Market Bizzz

Stocks that were in focus included names like Infosys, which rose 0.16%, Shriram Finance, which jumped 3.8%, and Hindustan Copper, whose shares increased 6.44% on Thursday.

U.S. central bankers are looking through recent data showing price pressures rebounded last month, and are focusing instead on overall progress on inflation that they say will likely set the table for interest-rate cuts later this year.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, however, fell 0.1%, weighed down by a 0.2% drop in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index. The Asia index is set for a weekly loss of 1%.

The SME IPO of MVK Agro Food Product opens for subscription today to raise about Rs 66 crore. It operates a sugar unit in Nanded, Maharashtra and offers 54.9 lakh shares at Rs 120 apiece, with revenues of Rs 60.12 crore and net profit of Rs 4.3 crore.

Data on Wednesday showed the U.S. economy grew at a solid clip in the fourth quarter amid strong consumer spending, but appeared to have lost some speed early this year.