After starting today's session on a negative note in the morning Indian indices have failed to recoup losses in the previous two hours of trade and are currently trading in the red. All the sectoral indices are in the red with stocks from the consumer goods and consumer durables space leading the pack of losers.
Currently, the BSE-Sensex is down by 273 points while NSE-Nifty is trading 71 points below the dotted line. BSE Midcap and BSE Small cap indices are both down by 1.49% and 1.29% respectively. The rupee is trading at 45.45 to the US dollar.
Banking stocks are trading weak with Kotak Bank and DCB leading the pack of losers.ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, the country's two leading private sector lenders have increased their lending rates by up to 50 basis points, making home, auto and commercial loans dearer. While ICICI Bank has hiked the base rate, the minimum lending rate, by 50 basis points (0.5%) to 8.25%, HDFC Bank has raised the same by 45 basis points to 8.20%. ICICI Bank has also increased the deposit rates by up to 50 basis points across various maturities. RBI has raised the short-term lending and borrowing rates (repo and reverse repo) seven successive times since April, 2010 to 6.5% and 5.5% respectively. These moves were aimed at combating the rising inflation in the economy. So far, over a dozen banks, including SBI, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank and Indian Overseas Bank had revised interest rates since the third quarterly review of the monetary policy by the RBI.
Protests against high food prices have now reached New Delhi, after hitting the Middle East and Africa. A least 50,000 people, representing trade unions of various parties marched through the streets of the nation's capital, demonstrating against high food prices. This comes a less than a week before the latest Union Budget is due, piling additional pressure on the UPA government. India is home over a billion people, and has been grappling with double-digit food inflation. Millions of poor have been the worst hit in this crisis. The RBI in turn raised interest rates seven times to tame rising inflation. However, much of the problem stems from bad weather problems and supply side issues.
For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!
Read the latest Market Commentary
What else is happening in the markets today? Dig in...
MRPL share price has hit a 52-week high. It is presently trading at Rs 45. BSE 500 Index is up by 1.7% at 19,713. Within the BSE 500, MRPL (up 8.3%) and RCF (up 20.0%) are among the top gainers, while top losers are HIMADRI SPECIALITY CHEMICAL and BHARTI AIRTEL.
KEC INTERNATIONAL share price is trading up by 5% and its current market price is Rs 454. The BSE CAPITAL GOODS is up by 1.6%. The top gainers in the BSE CAPITAL GOODS Index are KEC INTERNATIONAL (up 5.2%) and BHARAT ELECTRONICS (up 6.5%). The top losers are SCHAEFFLER INDIA (down 0.2%) and HINDUSTAN AERO. (down 0.3%).
GUJARAT ALKALIES share price is trading up by 10% and its current market price is Rs 346. The BSE 500 is up by 1.6%. The top gainers in the BSE 500 Index are GUJARAT ALKALIES (up 10.2%) and DEEPAK NITRITE (up 14.5%). The top losers are COLGATE and HDFC AMC .
DEEPAK NITRITE share price is trading up by 13% and its current market price is Rs 1,553. The BSE 500 is up by 1.4%. The top gainers in the BSE 500 Index are DEEPAK NITRITE (up 12.8%) and JUST DIAL (up 14.2%). The top losers are BAJAJ HOLDINGS & INVESTMENT and CADILA HEALTHCARE .
HIMADRI SPECIALITY CHEMICAL share price is trading down by 11% and its current market price is Rs 55. The BSE 500 is up by 1.4%. The top gainers in the BSE 500 Index are RCF (up 20.0%) and MMTC (up 20.0%). The top losers is HIMADRI SPECIALITY CHEMICAL (down 11.3%).
BSE Sensex is trading up by 378 points, while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 165 points.
View More Indian Share Market NewsLast time the smallcap index crossed 19k a big correction followed. Here's what makes it different this time.
A look at what India's top equity mutual funds bought and sold in January 2021.
Do you enjoy reading Tesla and Bitcoin stories? Here's a not so famous small-cap stock to profit from the rise of EVs.
In this video, I'll show you how to get started on the path to daily trading profits.
More
Equitymaster requests your view! Post a comment on "Basket selling drags indices". Click here!
Comments are moderated by Equitymaster, in accordance with the Terms of Use, and may not appear
on this article until they have been reviewed and deemed appropriate for posting.
In the meantime, you may want to share this article with your friends!