Benchmarks hit fresh intraday low

Key benchmarks declined and hit fresh intraday low in morning trade. At 10:35 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 128.67 points or 0.37% at 34,604.91. The Nifty 50 index was down 36.65 points or 0.35% at 10,435.85.

Broader market was trading firm. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.06%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.83%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1273 shares rose and 802 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.

Most metal shares rose. Hindalco Industries (up 1.7%), NMDC (up 1.53%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.97%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 0.87%), Steel Authority of India (up 0.6%), Vedanta (up 0.42%), JSW Steel (up 0.22%) and Tata Steel (up 0.17%), edged higher. Hindustan Zinc was down 1.85%.

National Aluminium Company (Nalco) was down 0.07%. The company said its board approved the buyback by the company of its fully paid-up equity shares of face value of Rs 5 each not exceeding 6.73 crore equity shares, representing 3.48% of the total number of equity shares in the paid-up share capital of the company, at Rs 75 per equity share payable in cash for an aggregate consideration not exceeding Rs 504.83 crore. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 12 October 2018.

On the macro front, India's industrial production (base year 2011-12=100) increased at moderate pace of 4.3% in August 2018, compared with 6.5% growth recorded in July 2018. The industrial production growth for July 2018 has been revised marginally downwards from 6.6% increase reported provisionally.

The all-India general CPI inflation rose marginally to 3.77% in September 2018 (new base 2012=100), compared with 3.69% in August 2018. The corresponding provisional inflation rate for rural area was 3.34% and urban area 4.31% in September 2018 as against 3.41% and 3.99% in August 2018. The core CPI inflation declined to 5.82% in September 2018 compared with 5.95% in August 2018.

Overseas, most Asian shares were trading lower as worries over US-China trade disputes, a possible slowdown in the Chinese economy and higher US borrowing costs tempered optimism despite a rebound in global equities late last week.

US stocks ended higher on Friday, with equities rebounding from a multi-day rout that slashed 1,400 points from the Dow Jones Industrial Average at its worst and left the Nasdaq on the precipice of a correction.

In the latest economic data, import prices rose 0.5% in September. Separately, an index of consumer sentiment fell to 99 from a previous reading of 100.1.

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