Indices widen losses in late afternoon session

Key benchmark indices widened their losses in late afternoon session. Selling in Telecom and Auto sectors' stocks pulled down the markets lower. Weakness was also visible in the broader markets i.e. in BSE Mid cap index and the BSE Small cap index. Nifty VIX was up by 2.94%. Sentiments remained down-beat after India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) jumped to 14.23% in the month of November as against 12.54% in October. The annual rate of inflation is 14.23% (Provisional) for the month of November 2021 as compared to 2.29% in November 2020. The high rate of inflation in November 2021 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, crude petroleum & natural gas, chemicals and chemical products, food products etc as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. In scrip specific development, shares of Anand Rathi Wealth debuted on the BSE at Rs 602 per share, up 9.4 per cent against the issue price of Rs 550. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as Omicron worries persisted and investors looked ahead to a Federal Reserve meeting amid expectations the central bank will announce plans to accelerate its timetable for reducing bond purchases. European markets were trading higher as investors focussed on crucial central bank meetings this week, while keeping a wary eye on developments around the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57,918.92, down by 364.5 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 57803.87 and 58322.42. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.68%, while Small cap index was down by 0.03%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.14%, Utilities up by 0.81%, Oil & Gas up by 0.37%, IT up by 0.36% and Capital Goods was up by 0.27%, while Telecom down by 1.33%, Auto down by 1.16%, Energy down by 0.81%, Consumer Durables down by 0.75% and Realty was down by 0.74% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 3.62%, Nestle up by 1.06%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.69%, ICICI Bank up by 0.62% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.55%. On the flip side, ITC down by 2.24%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.02%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.67%, HDFC down by 1.64% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.62% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) jumped to 14.23% in the month of November as against 12.54% in October. The annual rate of inflation is 14.23% (Provisional) for the month of November 2021 as compared to 2.29% in November 2020. The high rate of inflation in November 2021 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, crude petroleum & natural gas, chemicals and chemical products, food products etc as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

Component wise, primary articles index, having weight of 22.62%, increased by (5.57%) to 168.6 (provisional) in November 2021 from 159.7 (provisional) for the month of October 2021. Prices of Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas, Minerals, Food Articles and Non-food Articles increased in November 2021 as compared to October 2021.

Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15%, increased by (5.61%) to 131.7 (provisional) in November 2021 from 124.7 (provisional) for the month of October 2021. Prices of Mineral Oils and Coal increased in November 2021 as compared to October 2021. Prices of electricity remain unchanged. Besides, Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23%, increased by (0.89%) to 136.1 (provisional) in November 2021 from 134.9 (provisional) for the month of October 2021.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17,267.00, down by 101.25 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 17225.80 and 17376.20. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 3.72%, Divi's Lab up by 1.97%, Nestle up by 0.90%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.71% and ICICI Bank up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer down by 2.52%, ITC down by 2.26%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.07%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.72% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.69% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng decreased 318.63 points or 1.33% to 23,635.95, Nikkei 225 slipped 207.85 points or 0.73% to 28,432.64, Taiwan Weighted dropped 168.23 points or 0.95% to 17,599.37, Jakarta Composite lost 47.23 points or 0.71% to 6,615.64, Shanghai Composite declined 19.55 points or 0.53% to 3,661.53 and KOSPI was down by 13.71 points or 0.46% to 2,987.95. On the flip side, Straits Times was up by 4.21 points or 0.13% to 3,124.16.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 40.25 points or 0.56% to 7,271.69, France’s CAC increased 34.23 points or 0.49% to 6,977.14 and Germany’s DAX was up by 51.15 points or 0.33% to 15,672.87.