Sensex, Nifty fall after disappointing IIP, CPI data; here’s what weighing the markets today

Domestic equity market benchmark Sensex and Nifty slipped further in the trade on Thursday after the retail inflation surged to a six-year high in January. While the index of industrial production (IIP) shrunk by 0.3 per cent in the month of December. However, China’s Hubei province reported a record rise in the death toll on Thursday under a new method for diagnosing cases. “The economic effect of SARS in 2003 was very low but it had a much higher impact on the world equity market, since it was the first epidemic fear post the 9/11 terror attack of 2001. Presently, the market has handled it with more stability and with limited impact on world financial markets,” Geojit Retail Equity research said in a report.

What’s weighing down Sensex, Nifty-

Sensex, Nifty snaps 2-day rally- The S&P BSE Sensex was trading 140 points or 0.34 per cent lower at 41,425 points, while the broader Nifty 50 index was ruling at 12,157, down 44 points or 0.36 per cent.

Private bank stocks major contributors to today’s fall- Heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, HDFC twins, Kotak Mahindra Mahindra, Axis Bank, Maruti and LT were among the major contributors to today’s fall.

Maruti biggest loser- At the index level, as many as 21 stocks out of 30 Sensex stocks were trading in red. Maruti was the biggest loser on the Sensex pack as it fell 1.40 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, NTPC, HCL Tech. Conversely, SBI was the top gainer, up 3%, follwed by Titan, Infosys, TCS, Nestle India and Sun Pharma.

Most sectors trade flat to negative– Barring Nifty PSU Bank index and Nifty IT index, all the sectors were trading in red. Nifty Bank index was trading 188 points lower weighed by RBL Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. However, PSU Bank index was trading higher led by gains in SBI, Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank and Bank of Baroda.

Disappointing macroeconomic data- The retail inflation inched up to a six-year high in January on account of rising food prices, government data released on Wednesday showed. The CPI-based retail inflation was recorded at 7.59 per cent up from 7.35 per cent last month. While, the index of industrial production (IIP) shrunk by 0.3 per cent in the last month of 2019. The manufacturing output expanded by 2.9 per cent in December 2018, which shrunk by 1.2 per cent in December 2019.

Global markets- In Asian markets, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 0.04 per cent weaker while Japan’s Nikkei was 0.2 per cent lower. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 274.46 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 29,550.8, the S&P 500 gained 21.63 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 3,379.38 and the Nasdaq Composite added 87.02 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 9,725.96.

Coronavirus scare- Health officials in Hubei province said 242 people had died from the flu-like virus on Wednesday, the fastest rise in the daily count since the pathogen was identified in December, and bringing the total number of deaths in the province to 1,310. The previous record rise in the toll was 103 on February 10, according to Reuters.