Bourses trade above neutral line in late afternoon session

Indian benchmarks were trading above the neutral line in late afternoon session. Healthcare, FMCG and IT stocks were in great demand while Metals, Basic Materials and Telecom were under selling pressure. As for broader indices, Small cap index remained in red, while BSE Mid cap index continued to trade in green. India VIX traded with positive bias. Traders took some support after outgoing chief economic advisor K V Subramanian said Indian economy is expected to see a double-digit growth in 2021-22 and between 6.5-7 per cent in the next financial year. However, upside remained capped as India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) jumped to 12.54% in the month of October as against 10.66% in September. The annual rate of inflation is 12.54% (Provisional) for the month of October 2021 as compared to 1.31% in October 2020.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as a slew of strong economic data from China helped offset investors’ concerns around inflation. European markets were trading mostly in green with investors sitting tight before key inflation updates out of the eurozone and UK this week.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60823.43, up by 136.74 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 60597.36 and 61036.56. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.52%, while Small cap index was down by 0.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 2.11%, FMCG up by 0.81%, IT up by 0.81%, Consumer Durables up by 0.71% and TECK was up by 0.67%, while Metal down by 1.51%, Basic Materials down by 0.59%, Telecom down by 0.52%, Energy down by 0.42% and Capital Goods was down by 0.11% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.53%, ITC up by 2.27%, Asian Paints up by 1.67%, Nestle up by 1.26% and TCS up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.76%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.07%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.96%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.80% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.61% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) jumped to 12.54% in the month of October as against 10.66% in September. The annual rate of inflation is 12.54% (Provisional) for the month of October 2021 as compared to 1.31% in October 2020. The high rate of inflation in October 2021 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, food products, crude petroleum & natural gas, chemicals and chemical products etc. as compared the corresponding month of the previous year.

Component wise, primary articles index, having weight of 22.62%, increased by (3.10%) to 159.7 (provisional) in October 2021 from 154.9 (provisional) for the month of September 2021. Prices of Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas and Food Articles increased in October 2021 as compared to September 2021. Prices of Non-food Articles and Minerals declined in October 2021 as compared to September 2021.

Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15%, increased by (8.72%) to 124.7 (provisional) in October 2021 from 114.7 (provisional) for the month of September 2021. Prices of Electricity, Mineral Oils and Coal increased in October 2021 as compared to September 2021. Besides, Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23%, increased by (0.82%) to 134.9 (provisional) in October 2021 from 133.8 (provisional) for the month of September 2021.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18135.65, up by 32.90 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 18071.30 and 18210.15. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 2.58%, ITC up by 2.30%, Cipla up by 2.19%, ONGC up by 2.10% and UPL up by 1.95%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 3.83%, Hindalco down by 2.07%, Tata Steel down by 1.79%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.13% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.07% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 166.83 points or 0.56% to 29,776.80, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 116.34 points or 0.66% to 17,634.47, Hang Seng increased 62.94 points or 0.25% to 25,390.91, KOSPI rose 30.72 points or 1.03% to 2,999.52 and Straits Times advanced 6.84 points or 0.21% to 3,235.29. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 5.80 points or 0.16% to 3,533.30 and Jakarta Composite was down by 35.02 points or 0.53% to 6,616.03.

European markets were trading mostly in green, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 7.05 points or 0.1% to 7,354.96 and France’s CAC was up by 9.44 points or 0.13% to 7,100.84. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was down by 6.45 points or 0.04% to 16,087.62.