Inflation, global cues depress equity indices; metal stocks slump
Mumbai, July 16 : Rise in wholesale inflation rate and broadly weak global cues subdued the key Indian equity indices on Monday, with the Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closing below the 11,000-mark.
According to market observers, heavy selling pressure was witnessed on the metal, healthcare and auto stocks.
Index-wise, the broader NSE Nifty50 closed at 10,936.85 points -- lower by 82.05 points or 0.74 per cent from its previous close of 11,018.90 points.
The barometer 30-scrip Sensex on the BSE, which had opened at 36,658.71 points, closed at 36,323.77 points -- down 217.86 points or 0.60 per cent -- from its previous close of 36,541.63 points.
The bearish momentum on the Sensex could be gauged from the fact that its intra-day high was its opening level of 36,658.71 points. It touched a low of 36,298.94 points during the day.
"Surge in inflation and weak global cues influenced investors to book profit from the recent rally while IT index maintained the uptrend followed by earnings," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
The wholesale inflation rate for June was recorded at 5.77 per cent, compared to 4.43 per cent in the previous month, according to data released on Monday.
Abhijeet Dey, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund's Senior Fund Manager for Equities, said: "A higher inflation rate in a flat-to-slowing growth environment can be detrimental for the economy."
Major Asian markets closed on a negative note and the European indices like FTSE 100 and CAC 40 traded in the red, said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.
Nair also said the trade tensions and weak rupee negatively impacted the performance of broad indices.
In the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap and the S&P BSE small-cap declined significantly, by 2.45 per cent and 2.51 per cent respectively. The BSE market breadth was bearish with 2,052 declines and 546 advances.
On the currency front, the rupee weakened by five paise to end at 68.58 per dollar, against the previous close of 68.53 per greenback.
Investment-wise, provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold scrip worth Rs 625.68 crore and the domestic institutional investors sold stocks worth Rs 70.30 crore.
Sector-wise, the gainers were the S&P BSE IT index and the teck (technology, entertainment and media) stocks which rose by 112.89 points and 23.91 respectively.
On the contrary, the S&P BSE metal index plunged 461.08 points, the healthcare index was down 458.49 points and the auto index ended 402.05 points lower from its previous close.
The major gainers on the Sensex were NTPC, up 1.96 per cent at Rs 155.70; Infosys, up 1.83 per cent at Rs 1,333.05; HDFC, up 0.95 per cent at Rs 1,991.55; Wipro, up 0.86 per cent at Rs 283.10; and Hindustan Unilever, up 0.73 per cent at Rs 1,753.85 per share.
The top losers were Tata Steel, down 6.96 per cent at Rs 519.30; Tata Motors (DVR), down 5.02 per cent at Rs 142.75; Tata Motors, down 4.77 per cent at Rs 251.55; Sun Pharma, down 4.69 per cent at Rs 532.95; and Bharti Airtel, down 3.31 per cent at Rs 346.20 per share.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
