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The benchmark indices have started the session on a cautious note, post the gains on Monday, due to muted cues from the Asian market front.
At 10:35am, the Sensex has slipped marginally below the 29k mark and is now at 28,977, down 66 points, after trading in a narrow range of about 100 points between an intra-day high of 29,094 and a low of 28,955. The Nifty has held on to its crucial psychological level of 8,800, but is still down 25 points at 8,808.
The markets had opened this trading week on a strong footing, with the Sensex gaining 165 points and Nifty adding 53 points on Monday; the markets were shut on Tuesday on account of Dr. B R Ambedkar Jayanti.
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The broader market space is continuing its outperformance with gains of upto half a percent each; the midcap index is at 11,167, higher by 40 points and the smallcap index is at 12,010, up 68 points.The midcap and small-cap shares have been outperforming their large-cap counterparts in the recent past on hopes these companies may spring surprises on the earnings front in the next few quarters.
Among the data points to watch for, the market participants would be looking at the wholesale price index (WPI) for the month of March.
CURRENCY
The rupee opened higher this morning, up 14 paise at 62.37 per dollar versus 62.51 on Monday. The dollar has slipped on account of the fact that investors took advantage of weaker-than-expected US retail sales to lighten their positions on the greenback.
OIL
Oil prices in Asia climbed for a fifth successive trading day on Wednesday following forecasts that US shale production could decline and help ease a global supply glut. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery gained 26 cents to $53.55 and Brent crude for May rose 43 cents to $58.86.
According to US Energy Information Administration, the output from the country's seven shale regions that have driven production to a record high, seemed set to decline by 57,000 barrels a day in May.
ASIAN MARKETS
Asian markets are trading mixed fter China's first quarter (January-March) GDP expanded by 7%. GDP growth in the previous quarter stood at 7.3%. Hang Seng, Kospi and Straits Times are trading higher, while the Shanghai and Jakarta markets have edged lower.
SECTORS AND STOCKS
Sesa Sterlite has sustained its early gains and is now at Rs 204, up 2%, on the BSE. Banking stocks are hogging the limelight, with ICICI Bank, SBI and Axis Bank adding between 1% and 2% each.
ICICI Bank has risen 1.4% at Rs 321 after reportedly cutting its home loan rates for both existing as well as new borrowers by 25 basis points (bps) to 9.9% on Tuesday.
Axis Bank has jumped by 1% at Rs 572 after reportedly cutting its home loan rates by 20 basis points (bps) to 9.95% on Tuesday.
Kotak Mahindra Bank has gained 0.84% at Rs 1457 after reducing its base rate by 0.15% to 9.85% per annum with effect from 16 April 2015.
DCB Bank has surged by 6.5% to Rs 1225 on the BSE after it posted a 61% year-on-year (y-o-y) rise in net profit at Rs 63 crore for the fourth quarter (Q4) ended March 31, on the back of higher net interest income (NII). NII was up 30% for the quarter.
On the loser's side, Bharti Aitel has shed 208% at Rs 412 to top the loser's list on the BSE. Commerce major Flipkart has reportedly pulled out of discussions with the Bharti group for joining the toll-free data platform Airtel Zero as the battle for net neutrality hots up in the country.
The auto stocks are also having a rough ride; M&M has skid by 2.6% at Rs 1,216 and Tata Motors has slipped by 2.4% at Rs 542.
The market breath is strong. Out of 2,333 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1,320 advancing stocks as against 916 declines.
