Equity indices fell about 1% on Thursday due to uncertainty about interest rate cuts. Today, Hero MotoCorp, Honasa Consumer, Zomato, LIC and others will announce earnings, and Grasim reported a 40% fall in profit while Zomato beat estimates. LIC's profit was up 49%, Patanjali Foods had a 19.3% decline, Apollo Hospitals saw a 59% growth, Ramco Cements posted a Rs 93.4.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 index inched higher while hitting the 5,000-point milestone, with small-cap and semiconductor stocks outperforming. Strong earnings reports from companies like Disney and ARM Holdings contributed to the gains, while a positive jobs report and comments from policymakers on interest rates also boosted investor confidence.

Experts predict the market to consolidate with support at 21,500 and resistance at 21,900-22,000 in the near term. On February 8, Nifty 50 was down 213 points to 21,718, forming a long bearish candlestick pattern. Selling pressure was seen in benchmarks but less in broader markets. Hindustan Aeronautics, SBI, and Max Financial Services gained, with their stocks showing bullish patterns.

United Breweries reported a total net profit of Rs 85.34 crore for the December quarter, a significant increase from a loss of Rs 1.97 crore in the same quarter last year. The company's revenue also saw a growth of 12.28 percent. Anand Kripalu has been appointed as the Chairman of the Board, who is currently an independent director and the MD of Blackstone-backed EPL Limited.

Thermax Ltd, an energy and environment solutions provider, saw a jump in profit by 87.7% (Rs 237.06 crore) in the December quarter compared to the same period last year due to increased revenue. The company's operating revenue and EBITDA also increased by 13.4% and 20.9%, respectively. In addition, Thermax has approved the setting up of a new manufacturing plant.

The Indian rupee remained steady at 82.96 against the US dollar, as the RBI kept the key policy rate unchanged for the sixth time and revised GDP projections higher for FY24. The rupee touched an intraday high of 82.89 and a low of 83 during the day, but lost gains due to negative domestic equities and a recovering US dollar. The RBI also emphasized on closely monitoring food inflation.

Gold prices were slightly lower on Thursday due to a stronger dollar, with investors waiting for more guidance on when the US Federal Reserve will make its first interest rate cut of the year. Demand concerns also pushed down palladium prices to a five-year low. Fed officials are hesitant to cut rates until they are confident that inflation will hit 2%.

The RBI's monetary policy committee met to decide on interest rates, with an expected reduction sometime this year. The GDP growth rate for the current and next financial year was estimated at 7%, which is good news for investors. The inflation projection for the next year is 4.5%, indicating a possible case for interest rate cuts. The RBI's stance remains cautious.

Parliament passed interim budget for 2024-25 on Feb 8. Rajya Sabha returned Finance Bill 2024 and appropriation bills for UT of J&K. Bills were returned to Lok Sabha after FM's response to discussion. On Wednesday, Lok Sabha passed bills. Budget process complete as all money bills returned by Rajya Sabha to Lok Sabha.

Union minister V K Singh said show cause notices were issued to SpiceJet, Air India, and IndiGo for not rostering pilots trained in low visibility conditions. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation holds meetings with stakeholders before fog season. Notices have been issued to airlines for rostering 'non-CAT III compliant pilots' during low visibility.

Pharma and chemicals firm Hikal Ltd on February 8 reported a 38 percent year-on-year fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 16 crore for the October-December quarter of the current financial year. The company reported a profit of Rs 26 crore in the same period of the previous financial year. Revenue came in at Rs 448 crore, down 17 percent from the year-ago quarter of Rs 540 crore.

We have such dire ambitions with our partnerships, our ambition to grow training, education, distribution on software and cloud services and infrastructure as a service. So this company will turn around. Just like it is taking time for the new subsidiaries we are forming in this IPO (Rocks PC Meet which is for enterprise direct selling).

The RBI's monetary policy review on February 8 emphasized the importance of controlling fiscal deficits, current account deficits, and inflation for overall macro-financial stability. With a positive outlook on economic growth and caution on inflation, the MPC has decided to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5% and remain focused on reaching the inflation target of 4%.

NCC Ltd, a construction firm, saw a 40% increase in net profit for Q3, driven by higher execution and revenue of Rs 5,260.1 crore. The company received record order inflows of Rs 26,000 crore in 2022-23 and ended the year with an order book of Rs 50,244 crore. NCC's operating margins fell slightly to 9.61% but it continued to win new orders.

Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda launched three new initiatives aimed at benefitting farmers in India - SARATHI portal for insurance products, Krishi Rakshak portal and helpline for grievance redressal, and a learning material system about agricultural schemes. The minister emphasized the importance of digital technology in transforming India's agriculture sector.