Bourses trade with minor losses in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded near neutral lines with negative bias in late afternoon session amid mixed cues from other Asian markets. Traders were seen piling up positions in Metal, Realty and IT sectors, while selling was witnessed in FMCG, Power and Utilities sectors’ stocks. Caution persisted among investors ahead of October CPI data released to be later in day. However, losses were limited after India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) eased further 8.39% in the month of October 2022 as against 10.70% recorded in September 2022, primarily contributed by fall in the price of mineral oils, basic metals, fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment; textiles; other non-metallic mineral products; minerals etc.  On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve official offset investor optimism over China's sweeping rescue package to salvage its real estate market. European markets were trading higher as miners rose on China demand hopes, while caution prevailed after a top Federal Reserve policymaker warned that the U.S. central bank would not 'soften' its fight against inflation.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61738.47, down by 56.57 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 61572.03 and 61916.24. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.06%, while Small cap index was up by 0.27%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.60%, IT up by 0.91%, Realty up by 0.69%, TECK up by 0.54% and Healthcare was up by 0.40%, while FMCG down by 1.09%, Power down by 0.78%, Utilities down by 0.60%, PSU down by 0.51% and Capital Goods was down by 0.45% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.44%, Indusind Bank up by 1.32%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.28%, HDFC up by 1.01% and Infosys up by 0.98%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 3.82%, ITC down by 2.34%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.74%, Power Grid down by 1.59% and Nestle down by 1.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) eased further 8.39% in the month of October 2022 as against 10.70% recorded in September 2022, primarily contributed by fall in the price of mineral oils, basic metals, fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment; textiles; other non-metallic mineral products; minerals etc.

Component wise, primary articles index, having weight of 22.62%, increased by 2.72% to 181 (provisional) in October 2022 from 176.2 (provisional) for the month of September 2022, as prices of Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas and Food Articles increased in October 2022 as compared to September 2022. However, prices of Non-food Articles and Minerals declined in October 2022 as compared to September 2022.

Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15%, declined by 1.65% to 155.2 (provisional) in October 2022 from 157.8 (provisional) for the month of September 2022. Prices of Coal increased in October 2022 as compared to September 2022. Prices of Mineral Oils declined in October 2022 as compared to September 2022. Prices of electricity remain unchanged.

Besides, Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23%, declined by 0.42% to 141.9 (provisional) in October 2022 from 142.5 (provisional) for the month of October 2022. Meanwhile, for the month of August 2022 the final Wholesale Price Index and inflation rate for 'All Commodities' (Base: 2011- 12=100) stood at 153.2 and 12.48% respectively.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18346.75, down by 2.95 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 18311.40 and 18399.45. There were 25 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 5.78%, Apollo Hospital up by 2.68%, Tata Motors up by 2.59%, Indusind Bank up by 1.32% and Tata Steel up by 1.30%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 3.67%, Coal India down by 2.59%, ITC down by 2.33%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.72% and Nestle down by 1.46% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Nikkei 225 slipped 300.10 points or 1.06% to 27,963.47, Jakarta Composite lost 69.82 points or 0.98% to 7,019.39, KOSPI fell 8.51 points or 0.34% to 2,474.65 and Shanghai Composite was down by 3.89 points or 0.13% to 3,083.40. On the flip side, Straits Times advanced 31.13 points or 0.96% to 3,259.46, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 167.34 points or 1.19% to 14,174.90 and Hang Seng was up by 294.05 points or 1.7% to 17,619.71.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 27.48 points or 0.38% to 7,345.52, France’s CAC increased 28.03 points or 0.43% to 6,622.65 and Germany’s DAX was up by 69.72 points or 0.49% to 14,294.58.