Stock Market Report (11-15 November)

Indian stock markets ended higher this week amidst volatile trade, lifted gains in IT, banking stock and realty stock. The Sensex rose 170 points to 40286 while Nifty settled 0.25% higher at 11870 on Thursday.

BY SAHIL DESAI | 5 Mins Read

Gain in Realty Stocks

Real estate sector gained after the government has recently approved a Rs 25000 crore fund to help complete over 1600 stalled, affordable and middle-income housing projects. As a result, the BSE Realty index advanced the most to 2128.4 for the week. The index is up 9.8% over the last 30 days.

Within the BSE Realty Index, the top gainers were DLF (up 3.5%), Prestige Estates (up 0.3%), Indiabulls Housing Finance (up 5%) and Brigade Enterprises (up 1.93%).

Consumer and Wholesale Price Inflation

India’s Retail inflation for the month of October breached the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) medium-term target of 4% for the first time in 15 months due to higher food prices even though RBI had predicted that food prices are likely to moderate as winter supplies enter the market.

Inflation touched 4.62%, according to the data released by the statistics office on Wednesday, compared to 3.38% in October last year.

The sharp uptick in consumer inflation dampened expectations of a big cut in interest rates by RBI in December.

“Trend of the market is dictated by macro releases, as WPI inflation numbers indicated weak demand in the manufacturing segment. RBI is likely to give more focus on growth rather than rising inflation in the near term which may influence a few more rate cuts. In terms of earnings growth, we notice that the strength of Q2 result slowed by the end of the season, which can put pressure on stock performance”- Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services

Gain in Banking Stocks

BSE Bankex was the biggest gainer among sectoral indices, rising 1.2%. Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, Indusind Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 1-6%.

Factory Output Shrinks 4.3%

(India’s Industrial Production Data for September)

India’s industrial production shrank for the second consecutive month in September, its worst performance in the series that began April 2012, highlighting the persistent structural slowdown in the economy and firming up expectations of further monetary easing next month with scant signs of a turnaround.

As per the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), factory output contracted 4.3% in September, the lowest in almost eight years in this series, which began April 2012 (with 2011-12 as the base year) and the lowest since October 2011when compared with the earlier series with base year 2004-05. IIP had contracted 5% in October 2011.

Due to this the manufacturing sector index was down by almost 1% thus reaching to the mark of 14743, capital goods sector was down by 0.75% and infrastructure sector was down by 0.58%.

Infosys shares fall 2% on second whistleblower complaint

Shares of Infosys Limited ended nearly 2% lower on Wednesday, a day after the company received a second undated whistleblower letter accusing Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh of committing misdeeds. Sentiment for the stock was hit further after the stock exchanges sought clarification from the company on the fresh complaint.

The stock closed at ₹691.25 on the BSE on Wednesday.

Metal Shares Decline

Metal shares were trading with losses on Thursday.

Shares of National Aluminium Company (down 3.44%), Jindal Stainless (Hisar) (down 3.44%) and Coal India (down 1.09%) were the top losers in the index.

The Nifty metal index was trading 0.94% down on Thursday.

Vodafone Idea Stock Fell after Vodafone Group said its Future in India is Shaky

The stock fell over 4% after Vodafone Group PLC said its future in India is shaky unless the Centre stopped hitting operators with higher taxes and charges, after the Supreme Court ruled against the country’s telecom firms in the adjusted gross revenue case. According to a Reuters report, Vodafone chief executive Nick Read said the situation has been “very challenging" for a long time.