At 9.21 am, Sensex was at 74,859.00 points, down 179.15 points or 0.24 per cent, while Nifty was at 22,701.80 points, down 52.00 points or 0.23 per cent. Among the widely-tracked Nifty 50 stocks, 15 advanced, 34 declined, and one was unchanged, NSE data showed.
On Wednesday, the latest data showed inflation in the US increased more than expected in March, putting cold water to hopes of an interest rate cut shortly.
In the 12 months through March, the inflation increased 3.5 per cent year-on-year, the highest in about 6 months. This followed a 3.2 per cent rise in February.
Indian stock exchanges were shut on Thursday for Eid. The next stock market holidays are on April 17 and May 1, for Shri Ram Navami and Maharashtra Day, respectively.
The benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rose about 0.5 per cent each on Wednesday.
Going ahead, India's
Retail inflation in India is at the RBI's two-six per cent comfort level but is above the ideal 4 per cent scenario. In February, it was 5.09 per cent. Inflation has been a concern for many countries, including advanced economies, but India has largely managed to steer its inflation trajectory quite well.
Further, sustained inflows of funds by
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have become net buyers for the second month in March in Indian stock markets. They had aggressively sold
The latest data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) showed that the FPIs bought stocks worth Rs 35,098 crore in March. In February, they bought stocks worth Rs 1,539 crore. So far in April, they bought stocks worth Rs 10,117 crore, NSDL data showed.
"This (rise in
"Dips are likely to get bought imparting strength to the market. Therefore, investors may use the dips to buy high quality largecaps where the margin of safety is high."
From the global equity market perspective, sticky US inflation is a negative since it has reduced hopes of three rate cuts by the US. (ANI)