Markets Move Higher, WPI Below 7%

The Indian markets are currently trading higher in the green zone. At present, the Sensex and Nifty are both up by almost 0.40%. The WPI for Jul 2012 came in at 6.87%, which was lower than the street's expectation of around 7.25%. Of the sectoral indices, Bankex, Metals and Oil & Gas are in the green zone, while Healthcare, Power and Realty are trading lower.

The Hang Seng and Nikkei are still trading higher, up by 0.42% and 0.40% respectively, and Shanghai remains down by 0.12% at the 2133 levels. Media reports said that airlines and steel makers are taking the Asian markets higher, though the Shanghai market was unable to join.

European markets have opened positive, with the FTSE, CAC and DAX higher by around 0.4%-0.8%. The euro gained as German growth slowed less than was forecast and the French economy managed to avoid a contraction.

Back home, Coal India still remains in the lead, trading higher by 1.91% at Rs 354.20. In the Metals pack, Tata Steel and Jindal Steel have notched up gains of 1.72% and 1.61% respectively. In the Auto stocks, M&M and Tata Motors are up by 0.91% and 1.25% respectively. Others like Cipla, HUL, Wipro and ONGC are trading with marginal gains.

On the other hand, Sterlite Industries and HDFC are trading lower by over 1%. NTPC, Bajaj Auto, Tata Power and Maruti Suzuki are down between 0.78%-0.9%. Other stocks like TCS, ITC, BHEL, L&T, etc. are marginally in the red zone.

Suzlon Energy has taken losses of 3.11% and is trading at Rs 17.15, marking a new low. The wind turbine maker reported a huge loss of Rs 849 crore in the first quarter, much higher than that of Rs 300 crore in the Jan-March 2012 quarter and against a profit of Rs 60 crore in the year ago quarter.

Sun Pharma is trading 2.34% down at Rs 666.10. The company, which holds 66.5% stake in Israeli pharma major Taro has raised its offer price for the remaining shares by as much as 60%, and will have to cough up about $600 million for the remaining shares under the new offer.

The market breadth is weak at the moment. On the BSE, 1199 shares have declined, 1166 shares have advanced and 129 shares are unchanged.

The markets would continue to remain volatile ahead.