Markets maintain gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets maintained their gains in late morning deals as market participants indulged in enlarging their positions. Hectic buying in ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank companies' stocks helped the markets to maintain their gains. Sentiments got boost as data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed that retail inflation moderated to a three-month low of 5.1% in January due to a drop in prices of several items in the food basket - mainly onions. There was some buzz in Automobile industry related stocks as the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said that Retail sales of automobiles in January 2024 witnessed a 15 per cent increase to 2.13 million units, compared to 1.85 million units during the corresponding period in 2023. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 briefly crossed the 38,000 mark for the first time during the trade since the asset bubble burst in 1990 as it rallied about 3% and pushed 34-year highs. Back home, traders were seen pilling up position in Energy, PSU, Bankex, Oil & Gas and Healthcare, while selling was witnessed in Metal, Basic Materials, Power, Realty and Utilities. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71524.00, up by 451.51 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 70924.30 and 71634.70. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.22%, while Small cap index was down by 0.43%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.41%, PSU up by 1.07%, Bankex up by 0.89%, Oil & Gas up by 0.56% and Healthcare up by 0.43%, while Metal down by 1.53%, Basic Materials down by 1.34%, Power down by 0.77%, Realty down by 0.56% and Utilities down by 0.47% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 2.05%, Reliance Industries up by 1.74%, Axis Bank up by 1.43%, NTPC up by 1.42% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.27%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 0.71%, HCL down by 0.56%, Infosys down by 0.41%, ITC down by 0.34% and Power Grid Corp down by 0.30% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in line with cooling food prices, retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased to a three-month low of 5.1 per cent in January 2024. Inflation was at 5.69 per cent in December 2023. It was 6.52 per cent in January 2023. In August 2023, inflation touched a high of 6.83 per cent. The inflation for January was within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) comfort zone. The RBI has been tasked by the government to ensure retail inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.

National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in its data has showed that Rural CPI (General) in January 2024 stood at 5.34 per cent as against 5.93 per cent in December 2023. The Urban CPI (General) stood at 4.92 per cent in January as against 5.46 per cent in December. The index value for Rural, Urban and Combined CPI (General) stood at 187.3, 183.5 and 185.5 respectively, in January 2024. The price data are collected from selected 1114 urban Markets and 1181 villages covering all States/UTs through personal visits by field staff of Field Operations Division of NSO, MoSPI on a weekly roster.

Retail inflation in the food basket or Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) was at 8.3 per cent in January 2024, down from 9.53 per cent in the preceding month. CFPI recorded year-on-year inflation rates of 7.91 per cent for rural areas, 9.02 per cent for urban areas. Inflation rate for the food and beverages segment, which carries a weight of 45.86 per cent in the CPI, eased to 7.58 per cent in January from 8.70 per cent in December. Cereals and products inflation marked the sixth consecutive month of decline, dropping to 7.83 per cent in January from 9.93 per cent in December.

Vegetables inflation inched lower to 27.03 per cent in January from 27.64 per cent in December, while pulses inflation rate eased to 19.54 per cent from 20.73 per cent. Miscellaneous inflation, which broadly indicates price change for services, inched lower to 3.82 per cent in January from 4.07 per cent in December. Fuel and light segment, though in negative territory, showed an uptick at (-) 0.60 per cent in January from (-) 0.99 per cent in December.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21727.60, up by 111.55 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 21543.35 and 21766.80. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 4.97%, UPL up by 3.80%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.10%, ICICI Bank up by 2.00% and Reliance Industries up by 1.62%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 13.23%, Grasim Industries down by 3.48%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.07%, Divi's Lab down by 0.80% and Wipro down by 0.65% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Straits Times fell 3.38 points or 0.11% to 3,134.92 and Jakarta Composite plunged 73.71 points or 1.02% to 7,223.96. However, Nikkei 225 surged 1066.55 points or 2.81% to 37,963.97 and KOSPI increased 25.64 points or 0.98% to 2,645.96.