Markets remain in red lacking any trigger to move upward

Indian equity markets are not getting any respite and continue to trade marginally in red in early noon session. Traders are remaining on sidelines taking cautious bet ahead of the announcement of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) Inflation data, as the rise in Consumer Price Index has already lowered the chances of RBI going for any further rate cut. Traders have also overlooked the IMF chief’s statement that “India is indeed a bright spot in the global economy.” Heavy selling was being witnessed in the high beta bluechip stocks that were keeping the markets in negative terrain and the BSE Sensex fell below its important level of 28,500. The broader markets too were down in red, underperforming the benchmarks, while on sectoral front, despite recovery in rupee, IT and Tech stocks were moving higher along with realty and consumer durables, while the metal and power stocks were dragging the  markets lower.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28481.36, down by 21.94 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 28420.27 and 28581.82. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.26%, while Small cap index lost 0.47%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.18%, TECK up by 0.69%, Realty up by 0.65%, Consumer Durables up by 0.13%, Bankex up by 0.11%, while Metal down by 1.37%, Power down by 0.92%, Oil & Gas down by 0.65%, INFRA down by 0.58%, FMCG down by 0.42% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 1.74%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.74%, HDFC Bank up by 1.18%, Wipro up by 1.06% and Sun Pharma Inds. up by 0.85%. On the flip side, Sesa Sterlite down by 4.35%, NTPC down by 2.35%, Cipla down by 2.02%, Hindalco down by 1.75% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.74% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde has said that India has an opportunity to emerge as one of the world's most dynamic economies but it needs to implement the planned reforms and open up more fully to the world. She said that 'India is indeed a bright spot in the global economy, and economic developments hold much promise. I believe India has an opportunity to become one of the world's most dynamic economy, and my message during my visit here will be: seize it!”

Lagarde who will be on a two-day visit to India, outlined a series of areas where the government needed to do more to encourage investment and said that the economy should be opened more fully to the world, and there’s a good case for removing domestic constraints on growth, especially in energy, mining and power. She said that further reforms of India`s complex labour laws to encourage young job-seekers and boost female labour participation, as well as easing of land acquisition and other clearances, will help revive the investment cycle and achieve faster growth.

The IMF chief praised the steps taken by PM Narendra Modi and RBI governor Raghuram Rajan to steer the economy to a higher growth trajectory and called for bringing more women into the workforce to boost growth. She also lauded the government's financial inclusion plan Jan Dhan and said the JAM trinity (Jan Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile) is an important step towards overhaul of the subsidy regime.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8638.45, down by 9.30 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 8619.60 and 8663.55. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were DLF up by 2.80%, Asian Paints up by 2.28%, HCL Tech up by 1.89%, Zee Entertainment up by 1.67% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.64%. On the flip side, Sesa Sterlite down by 4.67%, Cairn India down by 4.37%, NMDC down by 3.20%, NTPC down by 2.16% and Cipla down by 2.04% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green, KOSPI Index was up by 1.54 points or 0.08% to 1,987.33, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 2.52 points or 0.14% to 1,784.27, Jakarta Composite was higher by 12.97 points or 0.24% to 5,439.44, Straits Times added 19.5 points or 0.58% to 3,382.27, Shanghai Composite was up by 57.15 points or 1.69% to 3,430.06 and Hang Seng gained 79.47 points or 0.33% to 23,902.68. On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted lost 66.44 points or 0.69% to 9,512.91 and Nikkei 225 was down by 4.38 points or 0.02% to 19,249.87.