Weakness persists in markets; Nifty below 10,200 mark

Indian benchmark indices continued to trade in red in early afternoon session, as traders remained cautious on the back of high Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data. India's wholesale inflation grew to 3.59 percent during October, higher from 2.6 percent in September, due to increase in prices of food and fuel products. Some anxiety was also among the local traders with data showing that 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, due to an increase in prices of consumer food items. Besides, depreciation in Indian rupee along with selling in Capital Goods, Telecom, Oil & Gas and TECK stocks, too aided the downtrend. In scrip specific development, Havells India was trading in green after inking a MoU with Korea based Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems Co. to mutually explore and  supply  low  and  medium voltage protection and switching devices.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, following a tepid lead from Wall Street, while investors await movement on stalled US tax cuts with fears growing that the reform push could come off the rails. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 32943.44, down by 90.12 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 32927.05 and 33126.55. There were 14 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.18%, while Small cap index was down by 0.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.46%, Auto up by 0.38%, Consumer Disc up by 0.27%, Healthcare up by 0.26% and Realty up by 0.05%, while Capital Goods down by 1.05%, Telecom down by 1.01%, Oil & Gas down by 0.98%, TECK down by 0.81% and PSU down by 0.76% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Cipla up by 1.47%, Lupin up by 1.38%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.38%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.32% and Axis Bank up by 1.15%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.87%, Power Grid down by 1.82%, Asian Paints down by 1.71%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.64% and TCS down by 1.45% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, defending the Centre's decision to launch India's first bullet train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai, Union Minister of Railways and Coal Piyush Goyal has said that this project is a part of the country's developmental plans. He added that the country is a rapidly developing economy with numerous developmental needs. He also pointed that a major component of India's developmental plan is the up-gradation of current rail networks along with the development of new high speed rail corridors popularly known as bullet trains.

The minister has stated that the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project is a visionary project by the NDA government which will herald a new era of safety, speed and service for the people, and help the Indian Railways become an international leader in scale, speed and skill. He said although introduction of a technology is often met with resistance but it eventually goes on to usher in change. He also explained that new technology has not always been adopted easily, and has at most times seen resistance, but, history shows that new technology and advancements are highly beneficial for the country.

Citing the example of the start of the Rajdhani Trains in 1968 which was opposed by many including the chairman of the railway board, Goyal said that such things keep India backward, but today, they are the trains that everyone wishes to travel in. Similarly, he feels that the bullet train project will also help railways revolutionise every passenger's journey. He also hopes that people will get employment opportunities with this project and it will bring important changes in the country.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10190.90, down by 34.05 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 10185.70 and 10248.00. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Lupin up by 1.60%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.59%, Cipla up by 1.33%, Axis Bank up by 1.19% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.03%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 4.01%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 2.53%, BPCL down by 2.12%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.88% and HPCL down by 1.84% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Shanghai Composite decreased 23.45 points or 0.68% to 3,424.38, Jakarta Composite was down by 5.05 points or 0.08% to 6,016.41, KOSPI Index shed 3.71 points or 0.15% to 2,526.64, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 2.12 points or 0.12% to 1,735.37 and Nikkei 225 decreased 0.98 points or 0% to 22,380.01.

On the flip side, Hang Seng increased 2.12 points or 0.01% to 29,184.30 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 3.26 points or 0.03% to 10,687.18.