Markets Still Firm, Ignore Higher WPI

The Indian markets are trading on a firmly positive note. The Sensex and Nifty are trading higher by 2.09% and 2.11% respectively.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for Aug 2012 has been announced. This figure rose to 7.55% as compared to that of 6.87% witnessed in Jul. The Jun 2012 inflation has been revised upwards to 7.58% (7.25%), while food articles' inflation fell from 10.06% in Jul to 9.14% in Aug. Overall, though, investors have weighed down the higher-than-expected WIP data against the other key events, i.e. the Fed's stimulus measures and the diesel price hike in the country.

Among the sectoral indices, Realty, Metal and Bankex have helped the markets to move up, trading with gains of 4.34%, 3.76% and 3.62% as of now. The other indices in the green zone are CG, Auto, Oil & Gas, PSU and Power, higher in the range of 1.15%-2.75%.

The other Asian markets are still trading positive. The Hang Seng, Nikkei and Shanghai are up by 2.71%, 1.79% and 0.55% respectively.

The European markets too have opened on a strong note. The markets rallied to a 14-month high early in the day, led by growth-oriented stocks like miners, after the launch of a new monetary stimulus programme from the US Federal Reserve in its latest attempt to drive growth in the world's largest economy.

Back home, the Metals stocks are providing ample support. At present, Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries, Sesa Goa and SAIL are all trading up by over 4%. Jindal Steel, JSW Steel, Hindustan Zinc and Hindalco have also soared by 5.72%, 3.13%, 4.20% and 7.22% respectively.

The market breadth is strong as of now. On the BSE, 1464 shares have advanced, 1214 shares have declined and 143 shares are unchanged.