Post Session: Quick Review

Extending their previous session's downfall, domestic benchmark indices ended lower on Wednesday after Wholesale price inflation inched up to 0.11% in December, snapping a six-month easing trend as food costs jumped up year-on-year. Meanwhile, October WPI inflation was revised to 1.66% compared to 1.77% earlier. Sentiments also remained dampened on report that taxes on services, the biggest sector of India’s economy, declined by 5.2 per cent in December year-on-year, as a result of which overall indirect tax collections rose only 5.1 per cent in the month. By close of trade, while Sensex ended below psychologically mark of 27,400, Nifty concluded below 8,300 mark, with losses in the range of 0.25%-0.30%. Though, domestic gauges witnessed some recovery in dying hour of trade but it was not enough to bring benchmarks back in green. Meanwhile, broader indices ended in red, with Smallcap and Midcap indices edging lower by 0.45% and 0.20% respectively.

On the global front, the persisting turmoil in commodity markets ignited risk aversion in most Asian stock markets, with Tokyo and Sydney equities finishing at fresh lows. Also contributing to the risk-off sentiment is news that the World Bank lowered its global growth forecast for 2015 and 2016 late Tuesday. The global development leader predicted the global economy would grow 3 percent this year, lower than the 3.4 percent forecast it made in June. Meanwhile, European stocks edged lower at the open on Wednesday, mirroring a slump in copper and oil prices after the World Bank cut its global growth forecast for this year.

Closer home, most of the sectoral indices on BSE concluded in the negative territory; however stocks from Software, Technology and Auto counters were the top gainers of the session. On the flip side, bourses’ losses were led by shares from Metal, Healthcare and realty counters. In stock specific action, shares of cement companies edged higher, extending their previous day’s rally on the bourses on reports that cement manufacturers have hiked the cement prices in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Shares of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies too traded jubilantly with most of the frontline companies such as Hindustan Unilever, Marico and Nestle India ended at their respective lifetime highs on the BSE. On the flip side, the metal pack ended in red after copper futures dived 6.2 percent to $5,499 a tonne when major chart support cracked and triggered a host of stop-loss sales. Additionally, oil shares remained under pressure on the back of a further slide in the crude prices. The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of decliners, which thumped advances in the ratio of 1261:1596, while 123 shares remained unchanged (Provisional).

The BSE Sensex ended at 27346.82, down by 78.91 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 27203.25 and 27512.80. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in the red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.20%, while Small cap index down by 0.45%. (Provisional)

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.08%, TECK up by 0.80%, Auto up by 0.38%, Power up by 0.38% and Capital Goods up by 0.19% while, Metal down by 3.50%, Healthcare down by 0.91%, Realty down by 0.73%, FMCG down by 0.64% and Oil & Gas down by 0.62% were the losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 5.01%, BHEL up by 4.77%, Infosys up by 2.10%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.67% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.21%. On the flip side, Sesa Sterlite down by 8.29%, Hindalco down by 6.24%, Tata Steel down by 3.98%, ITC down by 3.23% and Wipro down by 1.75% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the World Bank, in its latest update of its Global Economic Prospects, has highlighted that economic growth for developing countries is likely to pick up, spurred by falling oil prices and despite a slight slowdown in emerging economy China. Developing countries` GDP growth is expected to increase from 4.4% in 2014 to 4.8% in 2015 and further surge to 5.3% in 2016. 

Regarding the Indian economic growth, the World Bank’s report highlighted that India should be among the prime beneficiaries of the spectacular plunge in crude oil prices that has lost almost 60 percent of its value since June. The Asian giant, India, which is a net importer of crude oil, is likely to witness GDP growth at 6.4% this year from a 5.6% rate last year. On the Russian economic growth, it noted that Russia, which also is the target of western economic sanctions, is expected to suffer a 2.9% economic contraction this year before crawling back into growth in 2016.

Further, the report added that growing momentum in the developing countries would push growth in the global economy higher to a moderate 3.0% in 2015 from 2.6% in 2014, despite persistent weakness in the Euro zone and Japan. However, World Bank trimmed its global growth forecast from 3.4% projected in June. Further, it added that world GDP growth will reach 3.3 percent in 2016, as opposed to a June forecast of 3.5 percent, before dipping to 3.2 percent in 2017. 

India VIX, a gauge for markets short term expectation of volatility rose 4.68% at 17.25 from its previous close of 18.02 on Tuesday. (Provisional)

The CNX Nifty ended at 8277.55, down by 21.85 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 8236.65 and 8326.45. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 4.47%, BHEL up by 4.37%, Ultratech Cement up by 3.21%, ACC up by 2.54% and Infosys up by 1.90%. On the flip side, Sesa Sterlite down by 8.06%, Hindalco down by 6.30%, Tata Steel down by 3.74%, ITC down by 3.42% and BPCL down by 2.67% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European Markets were trading in the red; UK's FTSE 100 was down by 1.38%, France's CAC was down by 0.47% and Germany's DAX was down by 0.64%.

The Asian equity benchmarks ended in red on Wednesday, with Japanese stocks diving for a second day as the yen traded at a four-week high against the dollar, buoyed by falling global risk sentiment on a continued slide in commodity prices as copper plunged. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet approved a record $812 billion budget for the fiscal year starting on April 1, while cutting new borrowing for a third straight year in a bid to balance growth and fiscal reform. The 96.34 trillion yen ($812.45 billion) general-account budget draft, the third since Abe swept to power in late 2012, marks a rise from this fiscal year’s initial 95.88 trillion yen, reflecting higher welfare spending and military outlays. Japan’s M2 Money Stock remained unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 3.6%. China housing inventories is expected to pile up in 2015 as supply grows. Nine out of 12 listed Chinese developers will launch more housing projects in 2015 as they strive to meet sales targets and boost market share - at the risk of adding to already-bloated inventories. South Korean Unemployment Rate rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.5%, from 3.4% in the preceding month.