Markets trade near their day’s low; Inflation stands at 15.52%

Key benchmark indices are trading in the red, mainly triggered by the cuts in regional counterparts. While Nifty is trading below the psychological level of 5,650, Sensex dived below 18,850. India's food inflation rose 15.52% on annual basis during week-ended January 8, marginally lower compared with 16.91% recorded in the previous week, though, it is still hovering at level much above the comfort zone of the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). On the sectoral front the Oil & Gas stocks witnessed maximum selling pressure, followed by Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Bankex, Auto and Realty segment. Information Technology and TECk were trading in the green. Total traded volumes stood at around Rs 72,000 crore till now. The broader markets were also trading lower but outperformed the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap index was down 0.30% and the small-cap index lost 0.31%. The market breadth on the BSE was in favour of declines in the ratio of 1500:1080 while 90 scrips remained unchanged. Meanwhile, SKS Microfinance, the only listed microfinance company surged more than seven and half-a-percent on the news that Malegam report seeking withdrawal of AP MFI Act as it feels that the state is not the best agency to act as a regulator, has been submitted. The report brings structural clarity to the industry.

The BSE Sensex plunked 139.93 points or 0.74% at 18,838.39. The index touched a high and a low of 18,933.23 and 18,824.02, respectively.

The BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices dipped 0.30% and 0.31%, respectively.

The main losers in the BSE sectoral space were Oil & Gas down 2.05%, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) down 1.49%, Bankex down 0.78%, Auto down 0.73% and Realty down 0.65%.

On the other hand, Information Technology (IT) up 0.52% and TECk up 0.23% were the only gainers in the BSE sectoral space.

Meanwhile, the Indian government expects the private sector players, including the foreign players, to chip in with around 50% of the funding required for infrastructure projects over the next Five Year Plan (FYP) period of FY2013-2017. The Planning Commission has pegged total infra funding requirement for the said FYP at $1 trillion which means nearly $500 billion of private investment will be required. 

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday that infrastructure financing is one of the key concerns for the country, and private sector will have to play a role equivalent to that of the public sector to help ensure the target of $1 trillion investment in various infra projects was met. Indian economy is widely expected to clock 8-10% growth per year over next couple of decades, but its colonial era physical infrastructure is often cited as biggest road block in sustainable economic growth.  'Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), wherein the private sector is participating in the construction and operation of public infrastructure assets, is one of the most important developments in infrastructure delivery in our country,' the finance minister said adding India has developed over last several years a lot of capacity in implementing the PPP projects. 

Mukherjee was speaking following a meeting with the UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovations & Skills Vince Cable. The minister stressed that India and UK can learn a lot from each other's experiences. The two sides had launched Britain India Infrastructure Group (BIIG) which the finance minister expected to prove a major force in improving the physical infrastructure in the country.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up 1.55%, Hero Honda up 0.98%, NTPC up 0.64%, Jindal Steel up 0.61% and M&M up 0.38%.

ONGC down 2.63%, ITC down 2.48%, Sterlite Inds down 2.42%, RIL down 1.93% and Bajaj Auto down 1.74%, were the top losers on the index.

The much awaited Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is going to be launched today, i.e., January 20, 2011, which will enable users to switch operators without losing their phone numbers and will force telecom providers to improve the quality of their services.

The service, which will be flagged off by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today, will be available across the nation. MNP services were first launched in Haryana in November last year. The launch of this service will see more competition between the operators. Telecom providers have sought to maximize the benefits and limit the damages of MNP by launching often aggressive marketing campaigns. The cost of porting a number to a new operator is Rs 19, with the maximum porting time capped at 7 working days.

The subscriber, to avail this service, will have to send a SMS from his mobile to 1900. Once the customer sends SMS, he will be receiving a unique porting code from the current service provider. Then he need to fill the application in a particular format and mention the new service provider, the customer would like to subscribe for. Rest formalities are the same as when buying a new SIM. This facility is available to both postpaid and prepaid customers and subscribers of GSM as well as CDMA service.

Though, MNP has received positive response globally and is today common practice in many countries in Europe, it remains to be seen whether Indian market will follow suit.

The S&P CNX Nifty shed 42.85 points or 0.75% to 5648.20. The index touched a high and a low of 5680.15 and 5643.65, respectively. 

The top gainers on the Nifty were TCS up 1.59%, Hero Honda up 0.78%, NTPC up 0.77%, Jindal Steel up 0.62% and Sun Pharma up 0.47%.

The top losers on the index were GAIL down 3.18%, ONGC down 2.76%, Sterlite Inds down 2.50%, ITC down 2.48% and PNB down 1.94%.

Other Asian markets are all trading in the red with deep cuts in trade today at this point of time. Shanghai Composite plummeted 2.89%, Hang Seng plunged 1.61%, Jakarta Composite declined 1.84%, Nikkei 225 dipped 1.13%, Straits Times doused 1.04%, Seoul Composite plinked 0.43% and Taiwan Weighted dropped 0.43%. Stock market in Malaysia remain closed today on account of a holiday.

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