After opening the day in green, share markets in India witnessed choppy trades and are presently trading marginally below the dotted line. Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note, with stocks in the auto sector and stocks in the consumer durables sector witnessing maximum buying interest, while stocks in the capital goods sector are leading the losses.
The BSE Sensex is down up by 65 points (down 0.2%) and the NSE Nifty is trading down by 23 points (down 0.2%). Meanwhile, the BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.1%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.2%. The rupee is trading at 65.48 to the US$.
In news about the economy. According to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), retail inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to a six-month high of 3.58 % in October 2017, up from 3.28% in September.
Retail inflation in India picked up in Oct. led largely by higher vegetable and fuel prices, lowering hopes of a rate cut ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy review next month.
Higher inflation was driven by vegetable prices which rose 7.5% over last year. Onion prices in India have been on the rise due to tight supplies. The surge was likely driven by a drop in kharif onion crop sowing because of unseasonal rains.
CPI Inflation Continues Steady Rise
The food and beverages component of CPI saw a growth of 2.3% in October, the fastest pace since March, and up from 1.7% in September. This was mainly driven by a sharp uptick in vegetable prices.
Within the food segment, vegetable inflation quickened rapidly to 7.5% in October, from 3.9% in September
Core inflation, which excludes food and fuel inflation, eased marginally to 4.5% in October, from 4.6% in the previous month, breaking a three-month quickening streak. However, oil prices are continuing to firm up and this could lead to added inflationary pressures going forward.
