"Inflation is running very far above target. The economy no longer needs or wants the very accommodative policies we have had in place," Powell said in his testimony.

JPMorgan shares, for instance, have slipped for five straight quarters on the day it reported results. Shares of Citi and Wells Fargo have declined on earnings day in 6 of the last 8 quarters.

Gold prices were flat on Wednesday, as traders focused on U.S. inflation data for rate clues after less hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve chief fuelled a bullion rally last session. Spot gold was little changed at $1,819.51 per ounce by 0135 GMT. U.S. gold futures were up 0.1% at $1,819.80.

Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, Tinna Rubber and Indbank Merchant Banking are among the companies that will announce their December quarter results today.

The share of assets under management (AUM) of the funds linked to the systematic investment plans (SIPs) reached a record 15% of the AUM of the mutual fund (MF) industry in December 2021.

The board of Fedfina, a non-deposit taking and systemically important non-banking finance company, has on Monday given its nod for the plans to float an initial public offering (IPO) by way of fresh issue of equity shares and offer for sale.

A sudden price shock in any item may result in it having a disproportionate influence on households’ inflation perception and future expectations.

“To give an alpha push to your portfolio you have to move on to the next set of stocks but wherein one the quality of the company, the credibility of business promoters is not under question.”

"The market movement will be determined largely by earnings growth and not by multiples which have re-rated all through last year."

After falling just 1% earlier in the day, the interest rate sensitive technology sector bounced back and brought the broader indexes with it. Technology-laden Nasdaq closed up 1.4% marking its biggest daily gain so far this year.