The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    Sensex, Nifty climb ahead of inflation data; IT stocks gain

    Synopsis

    In the Sensex pack, Titan was the top performer, up over 1%. Infosys and HCL Tech also gained marginally ahead of their quarterly earnings today. Power Grid, Tata Motors, NTPC, ITC, SBI and Maruti were among other index gainers in early trade.

    Sensex, Nifty climb ahead of inflation data; IT stocks gainAFP
    Tracking positive global cues and ahead of the US inflation report, benchmark equity indices opened marginally higher on Thursday, led by the gains in auto and IT stocks.

    India's retail inflation likely held steady last month, staying within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) comfort range of 2%-6% for a second month, a Reuters poll of economists found. The data is due later in the day at 5.30 pm.

    The U.S. consumer prices index (CPI) report, also due on Thursday at 7 pm, is expected to show some moderation in December's year-on-year prices.

    BSE Sensex was trading 93 points or 0.15% higher at 60,198 while Nifty50 was at 17,919, up 24 points or 0.13% at around 9.22 am.

    In the Sensex pack, Titan was the top performer, up over 1%. Infosys and HCL Tech also gained marginally ahead of their quarterly earnings today. Power Grid, Tata Motors, NTPC, ITC, SBI and Maruti were among other index gainers in early trade.

    However, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank opened with cuts.

    Sectorally, Nifty IT surged 0.71% and Nifty Consumer Durables rose 0.47% while Nifty Metal and Nifty PSU Bank opened lower. In the broader market, Nifty Midcap50 surged 0.08% and Smallcap50 advanced 0.29%.

    Expert Take
    “The US inflation data expected tonight will be market moving. If the December inflation data declines to 6.5% as the market expects with a 0.1% decline on a monthly basis, that can lead to the Fed downshifting its rate hiking with a 25 bp hike in February and then pausing. This can trigger a rally in equity markets,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said.

    On the other hand, if inflation remains high, there can be a market selloff, Vijayakumar added.

    “Nifty continues to be range-bound in a wide band of 17774-18141. A move on either side of this range could result in accelerated move in that direction,” Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities said.

    Global Markets
    US stocks ended with strong gains on Wednesday, led by a jump in the Nasdaq as investors were optimistic ahead of an inflation report that could give the Federal Reserve room to dial back on its aggressive interest rate hikes.

    The S&P 500 gained 50 points, or 1.28%, to end at 3,969 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 189 points, or 1.76%, to 10,931. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 263 points, or 0.78%, to 33,967.

    Asian stock markets mostly pushed higher on Thursday, following gains for Wall Street indexes overnight. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5% and touched an almost seven-month high.

    FII Outflow
    FIIs sold Indian equities worth over Rs 3,200 crore yesterday, while total FIIs outflows in January so far exceed Rs 13,500 crore.

    Currency Watch
    The Indian rupee appreciated by 14 paise to 81.54 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday.

    The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major world currencies, declined 0.09% to 103.09 level.

    Crude Impact
    Oil prices rose in early trade on Thursday, building on gains in the previous session as China's demand outlook improves and concerns rise over the impact of sanctions on Russian supply.

    Brent crude futures up 0.2% at $82.85 per barrel, after rising 3.2% in the previous session.

    (With inputs from agencies)

    (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)



    (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today.

    Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price

    ...more


    (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today.

    Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in