Indian equity benchmarks traded on a cautious note throughout the day and ended the session in red. The selling in last hour of trade pulled the markets lower with Nifty drifting below 10,200 mark. The benchmarks traded slightly in red in early deals as traders remained cautious with rising crude prices and tax relief on some items under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which is expected to threaten the government’s fiscal targets on back of possible dip in revenues. Giving hint of further rationalization of GST rates, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that there is scope for further rationalization of GST rates and revenue buoyancy will decide the course of rationalization. The rising crude will also prevent the Reserve Bank of India from cutting interest rates any further. Sentiments were also dampened as India’s retail inflation accelerated to seven-month high of 3.58% in the month of October 2017, as compared to 3.28% in September 2017, but lower than 4.20% in October 2016. Consumer inflation rise was mainly due to an increase in prices of consumer food items. The inflation data showed that the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) - an indicator for food prices - also rose to 1.90% in October from 1.25% in September. Some selling also crept in after India’s inflation on wholesale level picked up in the month of October due to increase in prices of food and fuel products. According to the latest data released by the government, the wholesale price inflation (WPI) climbed to 3.59% in October 2017 from 2.60% in September 2017 and 1.27% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 2.03% compared to a build up rate of 3.53% in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Investors shrugged off a private report that business confidence in the country during the ongoing quarter has improved on account of government measures, macroeconomic boost and festive season demand, among others. The index stood at 76.7 during October-December of 2017, an increase of 6.4% from the preceding three months. The index, however, fell 4.1% against the corresponding three months a year ago. Separately, another report enlightened that India may emerge as the third largest economy overtaking Japan over the next ten years on the back of falling dependency, financial maturity and higher income and affordability. The report says that India is likely to cross Germany and Japan in nominal GDP in USD by 2028, assuming the economy grows at 10% in US dollar terms over the next 10 years, ahead of Japan’s 1.6%.
On the global front, Asian markets closed mostly in red. China’s economy cooled further last month, with industrial output, fixed asset investment and retail sales missing expectations as the government extended a crackdown on debt risks and factory pollution. Beijing is already in the second year of a campaign to reduce high levels of debt as authorities’ worry that riskier lending practices, especially in the real estate sector, could imperil the economy. The European markets were trading in green as telecoms and tech companies supported shares, helping them steady above a seven-week low hit in the previous session. The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said gross domestic product in the euro area rose 0.6% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to September.
Back home, select infrastructure related stocks were buzzing in today’s trade after ICRA in its report said that even though many infrastructure players are still struggling with stressed balance sheets there has been an improvement in financial profile of firms having exposure to airport and highways projects indicating a revival in the sector. The agency added that early signs of a revival of the infrastructure sector are evident with the improvement in the financial profile of players.
The BSE Sensex ended at 32934.80, down by 98.76 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 32907.11 and 33126.55. There were 10 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)
The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.27%, while Small cap index was down by 0.24%. (Provisional)
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.71%, Consumer Durables up by 0.44%, Auto up by 0.21%, Consumer Disc up by 0.09% and Energy up by 0.02%, while Telecom down by 1.45%, Capital Goods down by 1.44%, PSU down by 0.98%, Oil & Gas down by 0.97% and Utilities down by 0.76% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)
The top gainers on the Sensex were Hero MotoCorp up by 2.05%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.71%, Axis Bank up by 1.67%, Reliance Industries up by 1.33% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.20%. (Provisional)
On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.49%, Power Grid down by 2.27%, Asian Paints down by 1.88%, TCS down by 1.46% and Sun Pharma down by 1.41% were the top losers. (Provisional)
Meanwhile, diminishing hopes of a rate cut in the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy review next month, India's inflation on wholesale level picked up in the month of October due to increase in prices of food and fuel products. According to the latest data released by the government, the wholesale price inflation (WPI) climbed to 3.59% in October 2017 from 2.60% in September 2017 and 1.27% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 2.03% compared to a build up rate of 3.53% in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Component wise, primary articles index, having weight of 22.62%, was up by 2% to 133.4 (provisional) from 130.8 (provisional) for the previous month. Among the primary articles, the index for 'Food Articles' group rose by 2.2 percent to 148.0 (provisional) from 144.8 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Minerals' group rose by 1.1% to 120.8 (provisional) from 119.5 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for 'Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas' group increased by 8.6% to 69.8 (provisional) from 64.3 (provisional) for the previous month. On the other hand, the index for 'Non-Food Articles' group declined by 0.9% to 119.2 (provisional) from 120.3 (provisional) for the previous month.
Fuel & Power index having weight of 13.15%, moved up by 3.1% to 93.5 (provisional) from 90.7 (provisional) for the previous month, as index of Mineral Oils and Electricity surged.
Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23% increased by 0.3% to 113.7 (provisional) from 113.4 (provisional) for the previous month. The index for 'Manufacture of Food Products' group inched up by 0.1% to 128.3 (provisional) from 128.2 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Wearing Apparel' group increased by 0.4% to 137.1 (provisional) from 136.6 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Paper and Paper Products' group rose by 0.3% to 119.6 (provisional) from 119.3 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Chemicals and Chemical Products' group inched up by 0.4% to 111.7 (provisional) from 111.3 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals, Medicinal Chemical and Botanical Products' group rose by 0.5% to 122.1 (provisional) from 121.5 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Rubber and Plastics Products' group rose by 0.7% to 107.6 (provisional) from 106.8 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for 'Manufacture of Basic Metals' group surged by 0.3% to 100.7 (provisional) from 100.4 (provisional) for the previous month.
The index for 'Manufacture of Fabricated Metal Products, Except Machinery and Equipment' group rose by 0.3% to 108.8 (provisional) from 108.5 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Computer, Electronic and Optical Products' group jumped 2.4% to 111.8 (provisional) from 109.2 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Machinery and Equipment' group increased by 0.8% to 109.1 (provisional) from 108.2 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Motor Vehicles, Trailers and Semi-Trailers' group rose by 0.1% to 110.6 (provisional) from 110.5 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Other Transport Equipment' group rose by 0.2% to 109.8 (provisional) from 109.6 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Furniture' group surged 3.7% to 124.6 (provisional) from 120.1 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for 'Other Manufacturing' group was up by 1.2% to 106.6 (provisional) from 105.3 (provisional) for the previous month.
On the other hand, the index for 'Manufacture of Beverages' group dropped 0.9% to 119 (provisional) from 120.1 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Tobacco Products' group slipped 1.3% to 148.9 (provisional) from 150.9 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Textiles' group declined by 0.2% to 113.2 (provisional) from 113.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Leather and Related Products' group decreased by 0.1% to 119.1 (provisional) from 119.2 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Wood and of Products of Wood and Cork ' group dropped 0.1% to 132.3 (provisional) from 132.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Printing and Reproduction of Recorded Media ' group declined by 1% to 143.1 (provisional) from 144.6 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for 'Manufacture of other Non-Metallic Mineral Products' group was down by 0.1% to 111.8 (provisional) from 111.9 (provisional) for the previous month.
The CNX Nifty ended at 10182.20, down by 42.75 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 10175.55 and 10248.00. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)
The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 2.18%, Axis Bank up by 1.59%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.45%, Reliance Industries up by 1.42% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.30%. (Provisional)
On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 5.26%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 2.48%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.39%, Power Grid down by 2.32% and HPCL down by 2.02% were the top losers. (Provisional)
The European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 11.37 points or 0.15% to 7,426.55, Germany’s DAX increased 4.66 points or 0.04% to 13,079.08 and France’s CAC increased 1.74 points or 0.03% to 5,343.37.
Asian equity markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday as Chinese economic data disappointed and uncertainty lingered over US tax policy. Chinese shares ended lower after a slew of data showed the world's second-largest economy cooled further last month. China's industrial production and retail sales growth decelerated in October and property investment also cooled, as measures taken to curb excessive debt and factory pollution weighed on activity, data from the National Bureau of Statistic showed. Industrial output grew 6.2 percent year-on-year in October, down from the 6.6 percent expansion seen in September. Retail sales growth eased to 10 percent from 10.3 percent in the month, while fixed asset investment climbed 7.3 percent compared to 7.5 percent rise seen for the nine months ended September. Bank lending and property investment growth figures also disappointed investors. Meanwhile, Japanese shares closed on a flat note, with the benchmark Nikkei finishing marginally lower at 22,380.01.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,429.55 | -18.29 | -0.53 |
Hang Seng | 29,152.12 | -30.06 | -0.10 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,988.29 | -33.16 | -0.55 |
KLSE Composite | 1,733.61 | -3.88 | -0.22 |
Nikkei 225 | 22,380.01 | -0.98 | -- |
Straits Times | 3,399.09 | -20.04 | -0.59 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,526.64 | -3.71 | -0.15 |
Taiwan Weighted | 10,687.18 | 3.26 | 0.03 |
