New Delhi, Feb. 18 -- In a market this topsy-turvy, do fundamentals even matter? As the December-quarter earnings season draws to a close , Mint analyses whether corporate earnings provided a genuine lifeline or stock performance was simply smothered by market volatility.

The implementation of the new labour codes posed a significant challenge this earnings season, forcing companies to increase provisions for employee benefits, which weighed on their bottom lines. This one-time hit slowed profit growth to low double digits, even as top line challenges persisted and the gap between headline growth figures narrowed.

How did the market, already grappling with the Union budget, the finalized India-EU free trade agreement, and ambiguous prog...