Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended volatile trading session in green territory on Tuesday on hopes the Federal Reserve moves away from its ultra-aggressive policy stance and lower domestic inflation easing helped sentiment further. Indian equities made cautious start, as traders overlooked fall in consumer price index-based retail inflation to 6.77 per cent in October from 7.41 per cent in September has brought some relief for the Reserve Bank which has been struggling to bring it below the upper tolerance level of 6 per cent since January this year.  Soon, markets drifted lower, as traders were concerned after World Bank in its latest report said that India will need to invest $840 billion over the next 15 years to upgrade its urban infrastructure if it is to effectively meet the needs of its fast-growing population in cities.

Indices continued their weak run in afternoon session as traders failed to take any sense of relief with defence Minister Rajnath Singh stating that inflation in India is less as compared to the US, the UK and other countries. Singh also claimed that the country's economy is progressing rapidly under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sentiments remained in lackadaisical mood after India’s exports dip to $29.78 billion in October 2022 from $35.73 billion a year ago. Besides, trade deficit widened to $26.91 billion as against $17.91 billion a year ago. However, significant buying in final hour of trade helped markets to end near intraday highs with decent gains as traders remained hopeful that Reserve Bank of India will opt for a 35 basis points (bps) rate hike at its policy meeting in December, after three consecutive 50 bps increases, as inflation eased in October and is likely to dip further.  

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in green boosted by some positive inflation data, although Vodafone slumped on a disappointing update. Asian markets ended mostly higher, as investors brushed off a reverse on Wall Street and focused on signs of slowing inflation and China’s moves to shore up its economy. Back home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned the G-20 leaders that today's fertiliser shortage could become tomorrow's food crisis as he strongly pitched for maintaining a 'stable' supply chain for both manure and food grains. Further he said “We should build mutual agreement to maintain the supply chain of both manure and food grains stable and assured. In India, for sustainable food security, we are promoting natural farming, and re-popularising nutritious and traditional foodgrains like millets.'

The BSE Sensex ended at 61,872.99, up by 248.84 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 61,436.90 and 61,955.96. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.08%, while Small cap index was up by 0.01%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.99%, Telecom up by 0.79%, Auto up by 0.75%, Bankex up by 0.70% and Utilities was up by 0.53%, while Metal down by 0.60%, Capital Goods down by 0.21%, Realty down by 0.08%, Industrials down by 0.04% and FMCG was down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.41%, ICICI Bank up by 2.07%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.83%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.62% and SBI up by 1.43%. On the flip side, ITC down by 0.63%, Reliance Industries down by 0.46%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.37%, Nestle down by 0.16% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.09% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, with easing prices in the food basket, India’s retail inflation measured in Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped to 6.77 per cent in October 2022 from 7.41 per cent in the preceding month. The retail inflation, which the RBI factors in while deciding its periodic monetary policy, was 4.48 per cent in October 2021. Though, the inflation remained above Reserve Bank's comfort level for the 10th month in a row. The CPI has remained above the 6 per cent target since January this year.

Besides, the inflation in the food basket was 7.01 per cent in October as against 8.6 per cent in September. The National Statistical Office (NSO) under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in its data has showed that Rural CPI (General) in October 2022 stood at 6.98 percent as against 7.56 in September. The Urban CPI (General) stood at 6.50 percent in October as against 7.27 per cent in September. The index value for Rural, Urban and Combined CPI (General) stood at 177.9, 175.3 and 176.7 respectively, in October 2022.

As per the data, egg prices dipped 0.18 per cent on-year in October, while oils and fats declined 2.15 per cent. There was no change in sugar and confectionery segment. On the other hand, vegetables rose 7.77 per cent on year last month, cereals and products climbed 12.08 per cent and spices saw a rise of 18.02 per cent. Milk and products rose 7.69 per cent and meat and fish prices inched 3.08 per cent while that of fruits rose 5.20 per cent. Apart from food and beverages, the fuel and light segment rose 9.93 per cent, clothing and footwear gained 10.16 per cent and the housing segment inched up 4.58 per cent.

The CNX Nifty ended at 18,403.40, up by 74.25 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 18,282.00 and 18,427.95. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.23%, Power Grid up by 2.20%, ICICI Bank up by 1.87%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.62% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.61%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 6.09%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.10%, Cipla down by 0.95%, Grasim Industries down by 0.86% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.57% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in green, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 7.50 points or 0.1% to 7,392.67 and France’s CAC was up by 18.47 points or 0.28% to 6,627.64. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was down by 41.77 points or 0.29% to 14,271.53.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday amid disappointing Chinese industrial output and retail sales data fueled hopes that the China government will unveil more stimulus measures to counter the economic slowdown. Japanese shares inched higher, despite data showed the country's economy unexpectedly shrank for the first time in a year in the third quarter. Although, overnight fall in Wall Street's main indexes following hawkish comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, capped further gains.