The benchmark indices continue to trade in red and it seems that bears are trying to take a grip on the market with bulls fighting hard to regain the control. However broader markets are trading in the green with BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices gaining 1.26% and 1.54%, respectively. Majority of the sectoral indices on BSE are trading in green excluding Bankex, Oil & Gas, IT and Tech. Asian markets too are trading mostly in green, barring Nikkei that has plunged by half a percent. The market breadth on the BSE was in favour of advances in the ratio of 1865:763 while 80 scrips remained unchanged. In a significant relaxation in the norms governing the foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country, the government has allowed companies to issue equity to overseas investors against import of capital goods and machinery to be used by such companies. The facility was earlier available for companies raising external commercial borrowings (ECBs).
The BSE Sensex gained 13.34 points or 0.07% at 19,458.56. The index touched a high and a low of 19,562.55 and 19,401.84 respectively.
The BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices gained 1.26% and 1.54%, respectively.
Majority of the sectoral indices on the BSE are trading in the green. Realty up 2.02%, Metal up 1.08%, FMCG up 1.01%, Capital Goods up 0.94% and Power up 0.89% were the major gainers.
The top gainers on the Sensex were RCom up 3.48%, BHEL up 2.63%, Hindalco up 2.37%, Hero Honda up 1.92% and ITC up 1.57%.
On the flip side, NTPC down 2.18%, SBI down 1.08%, ICICI Bank down by 0.79%, Wipro down 0.79% and Tata Power down 0.63% were the losers on the index.
Meanwhile, India's food inflation was back into single digits again during the week-ended March 19 after showing an unexpected increase in the previous week. After having fallen throughout the month of February, the downward trajectory of the pace of rising food prices is no longer that sharp but it seems the food inflation may finally settle in single digits after nearly 18 months of stay in double digits.
According to the data released by the ministry of commerce and industry on Thursday, food price index rose 9.50% on annual basis during week-ended March 19, as compared with 10.02% recorded in the previous week. Further, the food prices index registered a third consecutive decline, down 0.50% to 178.7 from 179.6 during the previous week due to lower prices of grains, eggs and fruits and vegetables.
The index for 'non-food articles' group also declined by 0.2% to 189.9 from 190.3 for the previous week due to lower prices of rubber, cotton and oil seeds etc. As a result, the broader 'primary articles' index, which has a weight of 20.12% in the overall wholesale price index (WPI) register a decline of 0.43% to 187.2 from 188.0 seen in the previous week. The annual rate of inflation, calculated on point to point basis, for this group also declined to 12.98% as compared with 13.55% in the previous week.
The index for 'fuel and power' with a weight of 14.91% in overall WPI, however increased by 0.4% to touch 158.5 as compared with its previous week's level of 157.9. The annual rate of inflation for this group, calculated on point to point basis, too increased to 13.13% as compared with 12.79% in the previous week. Fuel inflation continues to remain at highly elevated levels and if international crude oil prices continue to remain at around the current triple digit levels, it has only one way to go that is further up.
The Indian government and the central bank have been hoping that food prices will continue to go down owing to a strong Kharif harvest and outlook of Rabi crop. While the traditional decline seen from November onwards in food prices was not seen this time around, there were robust signs of decline in food inflation in February. However, from this point onwards, further decline in food inflation is likely to be gradual, particularly as the traditional period in which food prices ease is nearly over.
The S&P CNX Nifty lost 2.45 points or 0.04% at 5831.30. The index touched high of 5860.20 and a low of 5814.20, respectively.
The top gainers on the Nifty were Reliance Capital up 3.81%, RCom up 3.58%, BHEL up 2.78%, PowerGrid up 2.70% and Grasim up 2.56%.
On the other hand, PNB down 2.40%, NTPC down 2.23%, HCL Tech down 2.08%, Kotak Bank down 1.20% and Wipro down 1.17% were the major losers on the index.
All the Asian markets are trading in green barring Nikkei which is down by 0.48%, Shanghai Composite advanced 1.32%, Hang Seng advanced 0.62%, Jakarta Composite was up 0.41%, KLSE Composite up 0.25%, Straits Times up 0.48%, Seoul Composite advanced 0.68% and Taiwan Weighted was up 0.25%.
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