Sensex, Nifty remain under pressure

Indian equity benchmarks remained under pressure in late afternoon session, on the back of weak cues from European markets. Heavy selling at Banking, Telecom and Oil & Gas counters kept markets down. Domestic sentiments also remained dampened due to rising inflation in the country. India’s retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped to 7.59% in January 2020. The CPI was 1.97% in January 2019 and 7.35% in December 2019. The inflation remained above the Reserve Bank of India's medium-term target of 4% for a fourth month in a row, dashing hopes of further monetary easing at a time when economic growth has fallen to the lowest in more than six years.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as Germany's consumer price inflation hit a six-month high at the start of the year, driven by a jump in energy prices. The final figures from Destatis showed that the consumer price index rose 1.7 percent year-on-year following a 1.5 percent increase in December. Asian markets were also trading in red, after producer prices in Japan were up 0.2 percent on month in January. That exceeded expectations for a flat reading following the 0.1 percent increase in December. On a yearly basis, producer prices jumped 1.7 percent - again beating forecasts for 1.5 percent and up sharply from 0.9 percent in the previous month.

Back home, the realty sector stocks were in watch, amid a private report stating that private equity (PE) investment in the real estate sector rose 3 per cent to Rs 43,704 crore during the last calendar year on increased interest of foreign investors in commercial properties.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 41426.39, down by 139.51 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 41338.31 and 41709.30. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index lost by 0.14%, while Small cap index was up by 0.03%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.12%, Healthcare up by 0.97%, IT up by 0.70%, TECK up by 0.53% and Power up by 0.15%, while Bankex down by 0.94%, Telecom down by 0.57%, Oil & Gas down by 0.50%, Metal down by 0.50% and Industrials down by 0.44% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan up by 2.41%, SBI up by 2.17%, Infosys up by 1.16%, Sun Pharma up by 1.11% and TCS up by 0.94%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 3.65%, ICICI Bank down by 1.51%, Tata Steel down by 1.41%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.37% and ONGC down by 1.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped to 7.59% in January 2020. The CPI was 1.97% in January 2019 and 7.35% in December 2019. The inflation remained above the Reserve Bank of India's medium-term target of 4% for a fourth month in a row, dashing hopes of further monetary easing at a time when economic growth has fallen to the lowest in more than six years.

As per the data of the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the CPI (Rural, Urban, Combined) on Base 2012=100 for January 2020, stood at 7.73%, 7.39% and 7.59%, respectively, compared to 1.22%, 2.91% and 1.97%, respectively in January 2019.

The data also showed that consumer food price index (CFPI) for all India Rural and Urban for January 2020 stood at 13.02% and 14.77%, respectively, compared to -2.94% and -0.88%, respectively in January 2019. The index value of CFPI for combined stood at 13.63% for the month of January 2020.

The spike in inflation in the vegetable segment was 50.19% during the month of January 2020. The inflation in 'pulses and products' was recorded at 16.71%, while in case of 'meat and fish' it was 10.50%. Inflation at ‘food and beverages’ was seen at 11.79%, while fuel and light inflation stood 3.66% in the reported month.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12159.55, down by 41.65 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 12139.80 and 12225.65. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 5.26%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 4.16%, Titan up by 2.23%, SBI up by 2.05% and Zee Entertainment up by 1.27%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 3.76%, Tata Steel down by 1.63%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.63%, ICICI Bank down by 1.50% and Coal India down by 1.50% were the top losers.

All European markets were trading in red, UK’s FTSE 100 lost 72.57 points or 0.96% to 7,461.80, France’s CAC fell 20.99 points or 0.34% to 6,083.74 and Germany’s DAX was down by 75.10 points or 0.55% to 13,674.68.

Asian Markets were trading mostly lower; Hang Seng decreased 63.26 points or 0.23% to 27,760.40, Jakarta Composite lost 38.68 points or 0.65% to 5,874.40, Nikkei 225 slipped 33.48 points or 0.14% to 23,827.73, Shanghai Composite declined 10.71 points or 0.37% to 2,916.19, Straits Times was down by 5.97 points or 0.19% to 3,217.40 and KOSPI fell 5.42 points or 0.24% to 2,232.96. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted was up by 17.59 points or 0.15% to 11,791.78.