Sensex, Nifty turn cautious ahead of IIP, inflation data releases
What's the story
Benchmark equity indices opened on a cautious note today ahead of the release of key macroeconomic numbers amid selling by foreign and domestic investors. The data is to be released later today. The 30-share Sensex was trading 3.66 points, or 0.01%, lower at 36,391.37 in early trade. The index had lost 580 points in the previous three sessions. Read the details here.
Gainers, losers
The gainers include Yes Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel
NSE Nifty slipped 3.95 points, or 0.04%, to 10,884.85. Major losers were Infosys, TCS, Hero MotoCorp, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, IndusInd Bank, and Maruti, falling up to 2.42%. While the gainers include PowerGrid, Yes Bank, M&M, RIL, Asian Paint, Sun Pharma, Cola India, Vedanta, ONGC, Tata Steel, SBI, L&T, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, rising up to 1.76%.
Reason
Global trade-deal, risk of slowdown continue to give caution: Nair
Brokers said investors were cautious ahead of index of industrial production (IIP) data for December and inflation numbers for January to be released later in the day. "Global trade deal and risk of a slowdown in growth continue to give caution, while investors remain focused on CPI inflation and IIP data to get some direction," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.
FPIs & DIIs
Rupee maintained its strength for sixth straight day against USD
Heavy selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also dented investor sentiment, said brokers. On a net basis, FPIs sold shares worth Rs. 125.05 crore, while DIIs offloaded shares worth Rs. 232.55 crore yesterday, provisional data showed. Meanwhile, the rupee maintained its strength for the sixth straight day against the US dollar in opening trade.
Information
Wall street Dow Jones ended 0.21% down yesterday
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei rallied 2.03%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.20%, Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.72% and Korea's Kospi was up 0.37% in their late morning deals. On Wall Street, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.21% down yesterday.