The market barometers traded in a narrow range in afternoon trade. The Nifty was headed towards 11,850 mark. At 13:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 70.30 points or 0.18% at 40,186.36. The Nifty 50 index was up 3.60 points or 0.03% at 11,844.05. Trading sentiment was fragile after India's retail inflation breached RBI's medium-term target of 4% for the first time in 15 months.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.09%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.05%.
The market breadth was titled in favour of sellers. On the BSE, 910 shares rose and 1389 shares fell. A total of 148 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 22 stocks advanced while 28 stocks declined.
Domestic Macro:
India's wholesale inflation, or Wholesale Price index (WPI), dipped marginally for the month of October at 0.16% compared to 0.33% in September 2019 and 5.28% in October 2018. The index was supported by higher food prices which prevented the index from falling into negative territory.
India's retail inflation for the month of October breached the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) medium-term target of 4% for the first time since July 2018 due to higher food prices. The all-India general consumer price index (CPI) inflation touched 4.62% in October, according to the data released by the statistics office on Wednesday, compared to 3.99% in September. The CPI was 3.38% in October last year.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Pharma index fell 0.82% to 7,597.75, extending losses for fourth straight session. The index has fallen 4.62% to 7,597.75 from a recent closing high of 7966 on 7 November 2019.
Aurobindo Pharma (down 8.61%), Wockhardt (down 3.75%), Piramal Enterprises (down 2.89%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 1.1%), Strides Shasun (down 1.05%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.6%), Alkem Laboratories (down 0.17%) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.12%) declined.
Cadila Healthcare (up 3.63%), IPCA Laboratories (up 3.3%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 2.02%), Lupin (up 0.81%), Cipla (up 0.5%), Divi's Laboratories (up 0.11%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Among the Nifty stocks, ICICI Bank (up 0.96%), HDFC Bank (up 0.52%), Bajaj Finserv (up 0.35%) and Reliance Industries (down 0.43%) have hit fresh 52-week high.
GAIL India (down 1.90%) has hit its 52-week low today.
Vedanta fell 2.23% to Rs 144.95. The natural resource company participated in and emerged as the highest bidder for the Jamkhani coal block in Sundargarh district, Odisha, in the 10th tranche of the captive coal block auction conducted by Ministry of Coal, Government of India.
The approved per annum capacity of the mine is 2.6 million tonnes. It has an extractable reserve of 114 million tonnes. Once operational, it will provide fuel security, improve power availability and further strengthen the company's aluminum operations and performance.
Telecom stocks fell after media reported suggested that the department of telecommunications (DoT) has issued a notice to telecom operators to pay their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues within three months as directed by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court (SC) on 24 October 2019 ruled in favor of the government on the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) issue, with grave revenue implications to the tune of over Rs 92,000 crore for the ailing telecom sector.
Bharti Airtel was trading 3.42% lower at Rs 355.90. The telecom operator will be in focus as it will announce its Q2 2019 earnings today.
Vodafone Idea fell 19.19% to Rs 2.99. Grasim Industries was down 1.01% to Rs 731.55. Grasim Industries has exposure to the telecom sector via its 11.55% stake in Vodafone Idea. Grasim will also declare its earnings for the quarter ended on 30 September 2019 earnings today.
Foreign Markets:
Overseas, European stocks opened lower while markets in Asia were mostly lower after China's October industrial production data missed expectations. Sentiment was soured after trade negotiations between the U.S. and China are understood to have hit a roadblock.
German GDP (gross domestic product) grew by 0.1% in the third quarter, exceeding the -0.1% contraction expected and narrowly avoiding a technical recession.
Chinese industrial production data for October grew 4.7% year-on-year as compared against expectations of a 5.4% growth, media reports said.
Japan's economic growth touched a 1-year low in the third quarter, the media reported on Thursday citing government data. GDP grew 0.2% on an annualized rate in the third quarter, well lower than a median market forecast of a 0.8% rise.
The US stock market finished session modest higher on Wednesday, 13 November 2019, on the back of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testimony that U.S. central bankers see a sustained expansion ahead for the country's economy. Also, factors supporting the rally include the resumption of short dated debt buying to add liquidity to money markets and a surge in government spending. However, market gains were capped amid lingering uncertainty about a potential U.S.-China trade deal.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing consumer price index climbed by 0.4% in October after coming in unchanged in September. Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices edged up by 0.2% in October after a 0.1% uptick in September.
The U.S. federal government's budget deficit in October rose 34% from a year earlier to $134.5 billion, putting the U.S. on course to top the $1 trillion mark in fiscal 2020 for the first time in eight years, or nearly 5% of gross domestic product.
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