Sensex, Nifty off to choppy start amid weak macro data

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened on a volatile note on Tuesday tracking losses in banking stocks as weak inflation numbers weighed on domestic investor sentiment.

After opening nearly 100 points lower, the 30-share BSE index was trading 50.26 points or 0.12 per cent lower at 41,809.43. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 13.80 points or 0.11 per cent to 12,315.75.

HDFC twins, ICICI Bank, HUL, L&T, Ultratech Cement and ONGC were the among the top losers in the Sensex pack, shedding up to 0.63 per cent.

On the other hand, Tata Steel, HCL Tech, M&M, TCS and Asian Paints rose up to 1.04 per cent.

In the previous session, Sensex settled 259.97 points, or 0.62 per cent, up at its new closing peak of 41,859.69. Likewise, the Nifty ended 72.75 points, or 0.59 per cent, higher at 12,329.55 -- its fresh closing record.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 68.24 crore, and domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 47.17 crore on Monday, data available with stock exchanges showed.

According to traders, market mood turned bearish after government data on Monday showed that retail inflation rose to about five-and-half year high of 7.35 per cent in December 2019, surpassing the RBI's comfort level, mainly due to spiralling prices of vegetables as onions were selling costlier.

Spike in headline inflation is an "unwanted complication" in a slowing economy and will prevent the Reserve Bank from cutting rates, analysts said, warning of the "spectre of stagflation" that India risks getting into.

On the global front, bourses in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul were trading on a mixed note in their early sessions.

Global oil benchmark, Brent crude futures, rose 0.17 per cent to USD 64.31 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 4 paise to 70.82 against the US dollar in morning session.