Opening remarks prepared by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, released ahead of today’s Senate hearing, suggest he will commit to preventing high inflation from taking hold. The remarks reinforced the idea that the Fed’s rate hike is coming, as early as March.

Additionally, analysts predict high volatility and an imminent correction.

“The unbridled speculation on substandard stocks, cats and dogs, is concerning. “Flying cats and dogs” is an indication of an impending correction. Hunting cats and dogs has always ended in heartache. Therefore, investors should be careful and stick to quality. The Nasdaq, which was down 3% at the start of trading yesterday, ending in positive territory, is an indication of very volatile days ahead, ”said Dr VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE Sensex turned in a narrow range of 250 points and was last traded 115 points or 0.19% higher at 60,511. The NSE Nifty rose 30 points or 0.17% to 18 033.

“We continue to believe that take-off in March is more and more likely,” Nomura India said. The brokerage said comments about the earlier runoff and less aggressive rate hikes support its view that the Fed will slow the pace of rate hikes to two per year in 2023.

The liveliest action in the opening minutes of trading was Vodafone Idea after it said the government will own nearly 36% of the third-largest wireless carrier after the company’s board of directors approved the conversion equity contributions. Following the development, the script plunged 14.81 percent to Rs 12.65.

Among Sensex shares, HDFC rose 2.06% to Rs 2,714. NTPC, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy’s Labs and Power Grid were up 1.3 percent. Reliance Industries stood at Rs 2,449, up 0.47%. Morgan Stanley maintained its overweight stance on the stock, with a target of Rs 2,925. Refining and retailing will drive future earnings growth, he said. Gas production will be a tailwind for profits, he added.

HCL Tech, TCS and Infosys IT stocks also rose.

Tata Steel, on the other hand, fell 3.42 percent to Rs 1,129 and was Sensex’s worst performer. Jefferies demoted Tata Steel to no longer “buy” with a target of Rs 1,240. Weak macroeconomic concerns and demand are weighing on metal prices, he said, adding that the report risk / reward is unfavorable compared to last year, although the easing policy could stimulate Chinese demand.

Bajaj Finance, M&M, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank fell as much as 1%.

ONGC was stable at Rs 158.45. Foreign broker JPMorgan has said that CGSB is the best proxy in India to play on rising crude oil prices.

Globally, Asian stocks have sunk in cautious trading after falling on Wall Street amid lingering concerns about the omicron variant of the coronavirus, particularly the increase in cases in China.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.8% in morning trading to 28,242.46. South Korea’s Kospi was little changed at 2,926.01. The Australian S & P / ASX 200 fell 0.8% to 7,391.50. The Hong Kong Hang Seng lost 0.5% to 23,640.42, while the Shanghai Composite lost less than 0.1% to 3,592.35.