The SGX Nifty index pointed to a muted start to trading on Tuesday, despite an upbeat global sentiment, after India’s inflation rate climbed to a three-month high of 6.5% in January.

At 7:15 am, the SGX Nifty Index was up more than 20 points at 17,809.

Globally, US markets were higher overnight ahead of the inflation report. The Dow, Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 rose 1.4%.

Back home, quarterly earnings season, rupee movements, crude oil prices and foreign capital flows will guide market trends.

Nykaa: The company posted a 70.7% year-on-year decline in consolidated profit from Rs 29 crore in Q3FY22 to Rs 8.4 crore in Q3FY23 due to investments and retail stores. However, operating income rose about 33% year-on-year to Rs 1,462.8 crore in the quarter.

Zee Entertainment: The company’s quarterly profit fell 92% due to lower ad spending and higher expenses. While domestic ad revenue slumped 16%, total spending climbed more than 10% to Rs 1,800 crore. Meanwhile, total revenue was flat at Rs 2,100 crore from the previous year.

IRB Infrastructure: The construction company reported a 94.49% year-on-year rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 141.35 crore from Rs 72.68 crore a year earlier. Total revenue rose to Rs 1,570 crore from Rs 1,497.78 crore in Q3FY22. The company’s expenses fell to Rs 351.72 crore from Rs 1,280.22 crore.

Castrol India: The lubricant maker posted a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 193 crore in the third quarter of FY23 compared to Rs 189 crore in the same period last year. On the other hand, operating income rose 8% YoY to Rs 1,176 crore in Q3FY23 from Rs 1,091 crore in Q3FY22.

SAIL: The state-owned company reported a fall of about 65% year-on-year in its consolidated net profit for the third quarter of FY23 to Rs 542.18 crore from Rs 1,528.54 crore due to higher expenses. Total revenue also fell to Rs 25,140.16 crore from Rs 25,398.37 crore a year earlier. Management said the weak global macro economy had impacted steel prices, impacting steelmakers’ margins.

JSW Steel: The company’s crude steel production rose by 15% to 18.91 lakh tonnes by January 2023 from 16.4 lakh tonnes in January 2022. In addition, its output of flat-rolled products increased by 14% from 12.47 lakh tonnes to 14.24 lakh tonnes in January 2022. Overall capacity utilisation also rises to 99% in January 2023.

Brigade Enterprises: Healthy demand and better price realisation helped the company record a 31% year-on-year growth in residential and commercial property sales of Rs 2,618.5 crore in the first three quarters of the 2022-23 financial year. Also, average sales rose 5% to Rs 6,616 psf from Rs 6,298 psf.

Chemplast Sanmar: The company plans to invest around Rs 680 crore to expand its custom chemicals (CMC) unit near Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The company said the first phase of the multi-purpose custom manufacturing area could be completed by the second quarter of 2023-24.