Inflation weighs on markets, Sensex down 135pts

Higher-than-expected inflation numbers exerted further pressure on the markets, with the Sensex at 18,397 down 135 points, and the Nifty down 31 points at 5,514.

Inflation for April saw a decline at 8.66% versus 9.04% reported in March, but still remained uncomfortably high, and this may, in turn, prompt the RBI to hike rates for another time this year.

Auto stocks Mahindra & Mahindra at Rs 674 shed 3%, while Bajaj AUto slipped 2.5% to Rs 1,304. Reliance Infra at Rs 599 shed 2%,as did ONGC and Jindal Steel.

Hero Honda was the top gainer on the Sensex at Rs 1,824 up 2%, followed by Bharti Airtel at Rs 372 and BHEL at Rs 2,052 both up 1%.

In the broader markets, the Mid-cap index slipped 0.5% to 6,868, while the Small-cap index let off 0.4% at 8,337.

The Healthcare index continued to lead the sectoral indices at 6,197 up 1%. The COnsumer Durables index at 6,215 was the only other sectoral index in the green.

The Auto cunter declined more than 1% to 9,113, while the Metal index slipped 1% to 15,230. Rate-sensitives indices Realty and Bankex were off 1% each at 2,156 and 12,472 respectively.

With 1,002 advances versus 1,529 declines, the market breadth was negative.