Nifty sinks 397 points; Sensex ends at 50,395

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Benchmark Indian indices extended their morning losses on March 15 reacting to weak macroeconomic data fall in IIP (industrial activity), rise in inflation WPI inflation came in at a 27-month high of 4.17% in February.

The resurgence in Covid-19 infections, higher crude prices & jump in bond yields. On an intraday basis, Sensex plunged 993 points to 49,799, while the Nifty50 index touched 14,745 on the lower side. However, in late trade market recouped some of its losses due to strength in Metal, IT & public sector banks.

At close, the Sensex was down 397 points or 0.78% at 50,395.08, and the Nifty50 lost 101 points or 0.68% to end at 14,929.

Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, L&T and Asian Paints were the top losers on the Sensex. Whereas stocks like Tech Mahindra, Powergrid, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech & NTPC were the top gainers.

Sectorally, Nifty Pharma lost 1.34%, Nifty Bank was down 0.88%, Nifty Auto fell by 0.47% and Nifty Realty slipped 0.40%. Nifty Metal and Nifty IT index rose 1.04% & 0.56% respectively.

The broader market tumbled. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.72% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 0.53%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 1226 shares rose and 1,825 shares fell. A total of 212 shares were unchanged.<>P>

Economy

India’s wholesale price-based inflation (WPI) in February rose to 4.17% as against 2.03% a month ago in January and 2.26% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Wholesale prices in February this year, which were highest in the last 27 months, rose on the back of rising food prices and manufactured goods.

India’s retail inflation (CPI) inched up to 5.03% in February, mainly due to rise in food and fuel prices. Food inflation rose to 3.87% in February, compared to 1.89% in the previous month. Inflation in ‘fuel and light’ category fell marginally to 3.53% in February compared to 3.87% in January but remained high compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

The consumer price index (CPI) based retail inflation was at 4.06% in January which was the lowest since October 2019.

Meanwhile, the country’s factory output (IIP) for the month of January contracted by 1.6% after registering a 1% growth in December 2020. Electricity sector output grew 5.5% in January while manufacturing contracted by 2% and mining output contracted by 3.7%.

Hit by COVID-19 spread and lockdowns, IIP contracted for five months in a row from April to August in the last fiscal before making a comeback to positive territory.

Further, Bank credit has risen by 6.63% to Rs 107.75 lakh crore while deposits grew by 12.06% to Rs 149.34 lakh crore in the fortnight ended 26 February, according to RBI data. In the fortnight ended 28 February last year, bank credit stood at Rs 101.05 lakh crore and deposits at Rs 133.26 lakh crore.

Bank credit increased by 6.58% to Rs 107.04 lakh crore and deposits rose by 11.75% to Rs 147.81 lakh crore in the previous fortnight ended 12 February 2021.

New listing

Shares of MTAR Technologies closed at Rs 1,078.30 at a premium of 87.47% as compared to the issue of Rs 575 apiece. The stock was listed at Rs 1063.90, a premium of 85.03% to the initial public offer (IPO) price. So far, the stock hit a high of Rs 1,154 and a low of 1,035.70.

Global markets

European market rose while Asian stocks closed on a mixed note on Monday ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting stateside.

The Federal Open Market Committee is due to meet on March 16 and 17 and it is reportedly expected that the U.S. central bank may revise up its GDP forecast, following a $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package that will send direct payments of up to $1,400 to most Americans. The Fed will also deliver its decision on interest rates.

US stocks closed mixed on Friday. The blue-chip Dow powered to its fifth consecutive record high on Friday and the S&P 500 closed slightly higher as investors bought shares that should benefit from a strong reopening of the U.S. economy.