Key gauges trade near intraday lows in last leg of trade

Indian equity benchmarks extended southward journey to trade near intraday lows in last leg of trade, breaching their crucial 36,400 (Sensex) and 10,950 (Nifty) levels, as India’s WPI inflation accelerated to 4-year high at 5.77% in June. Heavy selling in metal, healthcare and realty stocks too dragged the bourses near their intraday lows. Sentiments also remained dampened on report that India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the services sector has dropped by about 23% to $6.7 billion in the last financial year (FY18) as compared to $8.68 billion in previous financial year (FY17). Weak global cues also aided the downtrend, with Asian markets trading mostly in red at this point of time. However, European markets are trading mostly in green in early deals on Monday morning as investors focused on earnings and monitored an upcoming meeting between the United States and Russia. Back home, in scrip specific developments, Mahanagar Gas gained on opening first CNG station in Uran and  Infosys surged on reporting 4% rise in Q1 consolidated net profit.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36363.12, down by 178.51 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 36360.08 and 36658.71. There were 13 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index tumbled 2.03%, while Small cap index was down by 2.20%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.68%, TECK up by 0.27% and FMCG was up by 0.11%, while Realty down by 3.10%, Metal down by 2.91%, Healthcare down by 2.73%, Basic Materials down by 2.62% and Telecom was down by 2.57% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.93%, Infosys up by 1.67%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.40%, Wipro up by 1.18% and HDFC was up by 0.86%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 5.63%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 4.52%, Tata Motors down by 3.45%, Bharti Airtel down by 3.21% and ICICI Bank was down by 3.19% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, continuing rising trend for third straight month, India’s Wholesale price index (WPI) inflation accelerated to 5.77% in the month of June 2018, as compared to 4.43% in May and 0.90% during the corresponding month of the previous year. The inflation hit a four-year high, mainly due to rise in prices of fuel, food and manufactured products. As per the data of Ministry of Commerce & Industry, WPI for All Commodities (Base: 2011-12=100) for the month of June, 2018 rose 1.1% to 119.2 (provisional) from 117.9 (provisional) for the previous month. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 2.49% compared to a build up rate of (-) 0.44% in the corresponding period of the previous year. Besides, April WPI has been revised upward to 3.62% from 3.18% earlier.

Component wise, primary articles index having weight of 22.62% surged 2.0% to 133.2 (provisional) from 130.6 (provisional) for the previous month. Among the primary articles, the index for Food Articles group increased by 1.1% to 141.7 (provisional) from 140.1 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Non-Food Articles group rose 2.9% to 122.5 (provisional) from 119.1 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Minerals group inched up by 1.4% to 140.2 (provisional) from 138.3 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas group jumped 8.1% to 95.2 (provisional) from 88.1 (provisional) for the previous month.

Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15%, jumped 3.0% to 104.1 (provisional) from 101.1 (provisional) for the previous month, on the back of rise in prices of mineral oils and electricity.

Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23% inched up by 0.4% to 117.3 (provisional) from 116.8 (provisional) for the previous month. Among the items in the group, the index for Manufacture of Food Products group surged 1.0% to 128.5 (provisional) from 127.2 (provisional) for the previous, the index for Manufacture of Beverages group increased 0.3% to 119.9 (provisional) from 119.5 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Manufacture of Tobacco Products group inched up by 0.4% to 150.3 (provisional) from 149.7 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Manufacture of Textiles group rose 0.3% to 115.9 (provisional) from 115.5 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Manufacture of Leather and Related Products moves up by 0.2% to 121.9 (provisional) from 121.7 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Manufacture of Chemicals and Chemical Products group rose by 0.6% to 118.0 (provisional) from 117.3 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals, Medicinal Chemical and Botanical Products group moves up by 0.2% to 121.9 (provisional) from 121.6 (provisional) for the previous month.

The index for Manufacture of Rubber and Plastics Products group increased by 0.5% to 109.0 (provisional) from 108.5 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Manufacture of Basic Metals group rose 0.7% to 113.0 (provisional) from 112.2 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Manufacture of Fabricated Metal Products, Except Machinery and Equipment group surged 1.2% to 114.0 (provisional) from 112.7 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Manufacture of Electrical Equipment group inched up by 0.3% to 111.6 (provisional) from 111.3 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Manufacture of Machinery and Equipment group increased by 0.4% to 110.3 (provisional) from 109.9 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Manufacture of Motor Vehicles, Trailers and Semi-Trailers group rose 0.2% to 111.9 (provisional) from 111.7 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Manufacture of Furniture group jumped 1.9% to 127.5 (provisional) from 125.1 (provisional) for the previous month.

On the other hand, the index for Manufacture of Wearing Apparel group slipped 1.3% to 139.2 (provisional) from 141.0 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Manufacture of Wood and of Products of Wood and Cork group declined by 0.2% to 133.1(provisional) from 133.3 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Manufacture of Paper and Paper Products group decreased by 0.2% to 120.7 (provisional) from 121.0 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Printing and Reproduction of Recorded Media group dropped 0.1% to 146.4 (provisional) from 146.6 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for Manufacture of Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products group declined 0.4% to 115.2 (provisional) from 115.7 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for Manufacture of Computer, Electronic and Optical Products group was down by 0.3% to 111.3 (provisional) from 111.6 (provisional) for the previous month.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10942.55, down by 76.35 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 10941.70 and 11019.50. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 2.03%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.80%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.28%, Wipro up by 1.12% and Infosys was up by 0.97%. On the flip side, Dr Reddys Lab down by 8.68%, Tata Steel down by 5.67%, Lupin down by 3.85%, Bharti Airtel down by 3.43% and Tata Motors was down by 3.17% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted fell 47.09 points or 0.44% to 10,817.45, Straits Times slipped 22.27 points or 0.69% to 3,238.08, Jakarta Composite declined 89.45 points or 1.53% to 5,854.62, KOSPI lost 8.91 points or 0.39% to 2,301.99 and Shanghai Composite was decreased 17.26 points or 0.61% to 2,813.92. On the other side, Hang Seng was up by 14.22 points or 0.05% to 28,539.66.

All European markets were trading mostly in green, France’s CAC increased 1.22 points or 0.02% to 5,430.42, Germany’s DAX surged 10.54 points or 0.08% to 12,551.27, while UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 8.60 points or 0.11% to 7,653.27.