Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended in red terrain on Monday’s trading session, as bears held a tight grip over Dalal Street. After a cautious start, key indices remained lower for the whole day, after the government data showed that India's retail inflation rose to 5.03 per cent in February, mainly on account of higher food prices. Besides, according to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) contracted 1.6 per cent for January 2021.

Markets added more losses in late morning deals, as the Wholesale price-based inflation (WPI) in February rose to its 27-month high to 4.17 percent as against 2.03 percent a month ago in January. This is a 27-month high. Traders were worried, amid reports that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 7,013 crore so far this month in the Indian markets on profit-booking as jitters in global bond markets spooked investors. As per depositories data, FPIs pulled out Rs 531 crore from equities and Rs 6,482 crore from the debt segment between Mar 1-13.

During last hours of the trading session, indices cut some of their losses, however ended in red terrain. Domestic sentiments remained negative, as India reported 26,514 fresh Covid-19 cases on Friday pushing the overall tally to 11,385,158, according to Worldometer. The death toll from the deadly infection jumped to 158,762. Traders overlooked Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur’s statement that there are green shoots visible in various sectors of the economy and the country is already looking at a V-shaped recovery.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher, as traders remain optimistic for a rapid economic recovery thanks to the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. Asian markets ended mixed on Monday, after the value of core machine orders in Japan slipped a seasonally adjusted 4.5 percent on month in January, the Cabinet Office said on Monday - standing at 841.7 billion yen. That exceeded expectations for a decline of 5.5 percent following the upwardly revised 5.3 percent increase in December (originally 5.2 percent). On a yearly basis, core machine orders climbed 1.5 percent - again beating forecasts for a decline of 0.2 percent after spiking 11.8 percent in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex ended at 50395.08, down by 397.00 points or 0.78% after trading in a range of 49799.07 and 50834.78. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.72%, while Small cap index was down by 0.53%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.49%, Power up by 0.98%, Utilities up by 0.51%, Basic Materials up by 0.40% and IT up by 0.33%, while Energy down by 1.20%, Healthcare down by 1.02%, Capital Goods down by 0.99%, Industrials down by 0.94% and Bankex down by 0.91% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 2.22%, Power Grid up by 1.86%, Indusind Bank up by 1.51%, HCL Tech. up by 1.24% and NTPC up by 1.14%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.68%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.21%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.09%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.99% and Asian Paints down by 1.92% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) rose to 4.17% (provisional) for the month of February 2021 as compared to 2.26% during the corresponding month of the previous year.

Component wise, primary articles index having weight of 22.62%, increased by (1.04%) to 145.4 (provisional) in February 2021 from 143.9 (provisional) for the month of January 2021. Prices of Minerals, Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas and Food Articles increased in February 2021 as compared to January 2021, while prices of Non-food Articles declined in February 2021 as compared to January 2021.

Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15%, increased by (4.51%) to 104.2 (provisional) in February 2021 from 99.7 (provisional) for the month of January 2021. Prices of Mineral Oils increased in February 2021 as compared to January 2021, while Prices of Electricity declined in February 2021 as compared to January 2021. Prices of coal remain unchanged.

Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23%, increased by (0.64%) to 125.7 (provisional) in February 2021 from 124.9 (provisional) for the month of January 2021. Meanwhile, for the month of December 2020, the final Wholesale Price Index and inflation rate for 'All Commodities' (Base: 2011-12=100) stood at 125.4 and 1.95% respectively.

The CNX Nifty ended at 14929.50, down by 101.45 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 14745.85 and 15048.40. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 2.60%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.33%, Tata Steel up by 2.28%, Power Grid up by 1.86% and Indusind Bank up by 1.56%. On the flip side, Divis Lab down by 2.88%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.58%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.47%, Coal India down by 2.39% and GAIL India down by 2.25% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 28.69 points or 0.42% to 6,790.16, France’s CAC increased 29.02 points or 0.48% to 6,075.57 and Germany’s DAX was up by 14.73 points or 0.1% to 14,517.12.

Asian markets ended mixed on Monday as the US 10 year treasury yields continued to hover near their 13-month peak after the passage of a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, while investors are awaited the outcome of this week's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting for any comments about rising yields and the US economic growth outlook. Chinese shares ended lower as a neutral lending stance from the People’s Bank of China as well as surging economic activity data have renewed concerns about tightening liquidity. Industrial production jumped a forecast-busting 35.1 percent on-year, the biggest bounce in decades, while retail sales also spiked and beat expectations with 33.8 percent growth. Japanese shares ended up slightly on increasing optimism around swift recovery of global economy. While data showed the value of core machine orders in Japan slipped a seasonally adjusted 4.5 percent sequentially in January, that exceeding expectations for a decline of 5.5 percent following the upwardly revised 5.3 percent increase in December.