Markets Witness An Economic Data-Driven Week

The last week has been a data-driven one for the Indian markets. Taking cues from it, the markets witnessed some volatility and ended on a flat note in red. The Sensex and Nifty ended the week declining by 0.09% and 0.27% respectively.

On the other hand, the CPI numbers for the month of January 2013 came in at 10.79% as against 10.76% of December 2012, witnessing an increase of 23 basis points. The CPI Inflation is considered more relevant as it captures the ground level prices which directly impact the consumers’ purchasing activity.

However, on the other hand, there is a positive sign too. The WPI numbers for the month of January 2013 came in surprisingly lower at 6.62%, well below the street’s expectations of 7%. WPI for the month of December 2012 stood at 7.18%. WPI is showing signs of cooling since the past three to four months. From 7.32% in the month of October 2012 to 6.62% in January 2013, it reduced almost by 70 basis points in the past four months.

On the global front, there will be a focus on the G-20 meet of the finance chiefs, which is scheduled to be held in Moscow today. The G-20 finance ministers and central bankers begin talks in the Russian capital today to find some common ground on currencies, with investors seeking clarity on how comfortable they are with a sliding yen. Russia, who holds the G-20’s rotating presidency this year, wants to head off a global currency war by pushing policy makers to make stronger commitments against exchange-rate manipulation.

The Senate Democrats unveiled a $110 billion plan yesterday to delay federal spending cuts, including tax increases which Republicans already say they won’t accept.

The main gainer was the BSE PSU index that closed with a gain of 0.34%. It is followed by the BSE HC index (+0.32%) and the BSE Bankex index (+0.31%). The main draggers this week are the BSE Realty index (-5.39%), followed by the BSE CG index (-3.98%) and BSE Power index (-2.79%).

Money inflows from the FIIs remained strong this week. The FIIs pumped in Rs 19,496 for the month of February till February 13, taking the total inflows to Rs 41,741 crore for CY13. The DIIs again remained in red and have sold equities worth Rs 1,325 crore in the month of February. The main set off for the markets, going forward, will be the Union Budget. The Budget Session of the Parliament is slated to start from February 21 and is likely to give a direction to the markets. It is now over to the Finance Minister to give the much needed trigger to the markets.