Markets Move Up, June CPI At 10.02%

The Indian markets were trading with marginal gains at noon. The markets showed some weakness in the early trades and are at 0.1% at present, just above yesterday’s closing. The Nifty is hovering around the 5200 mark, while the Sensex is trading above 17100. Among the sectoral indices, Realty, Healthcare and Consumer Durables are trading higher. Auto, Oil & Gas and Metals are among the worst performers at present, trading in the negative territory.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) figure for Jun 2012 has come in at 10.02%, which is lower than that for May 2012, which stood at 10.36%. The WPI Inflation figure for Jun 2012, which was released on Jul 16, stood at 7.25%, lower than of 7.55% for May 2012. The RBI would analyse this inflation data, before taking any decision on the monetary policy.

Of the other Asian markets, Hang Seng is the major loser trading down by 1.27%, and Nikkei is also trading with marginal losses, lower by 0.32%. The Chinese market, Shanghai, which traded very flat in the first half of the trading session, has now seen some rise and is trading with marginal gains of 0.1%.

On the other hand, the European markets have opened in the green zone with major indices like FTSE, CAC and DAX higher in the range of 0.1%-0.8%. Reports say that investors are expecting some kind of positives from the Fed tonight and are also responding well to the earnings from Credit Suisse AG.

Back home, Bajaj Auto is the leading index gainer, trading higher by 2.75% at Rs 1487 after the company posted decent Jun 2012 quarter financial numbers. It has posted a net profit of Rs 7183.90 million for the quarter as compared to Rs 7110.60 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. Tata Power, Jindal Steel, Coal India, ICICI Bank and Tata Steel are up by more than 1% each. Other stocks like TCS, Maruti Suzuki, ONGC, HUL, etc. are also trading with marginal gains.

The shares of Tata Motors are the biggest index losers, trading down by 2.26% at Rs 220.80. Among others, Dr Reddy’s Labs, NTPC, M&M and SBI are trading lower by more than 1%. TCS, Sun Pharma, ITC, and GAIL India are trading marginally in the red zone.

Reliance Mediaworks moved strongly north, up 8.23% to Rs 63.80 on news that the company has signed a term sheet with a leading international Private Equity fund.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, is weak. On the BSE, 1416 shares declined while 1110 shares have advanced and 140 shares are unchanged.

We expect the markets to remain volatile.