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WPI Inflation Data, Passenger Vehicle Sales, and Buzzing Stocks Today
Mon, 18 Oct Pre-Open

WPI Inflation Data, Passenger Vehicle Sales, and Buzzing Stocks Today

Indian share markets ended on a strong note on Thursday.

Market bulls reigned on the bourses for the sixth consecutive session on Thursday as strong quarter two show by Infosys and Wipro, along with hopes of a better-than-anticipated economic recovery, lifted sentiment.

At the closing bell on Thursday, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 569 points (up 0.9%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 177 points (up 1%).

ITC and HDFC Bank were among the top gainers.

TCS and HCL Tech, on the other hand, were among the top losers.

Both, the BSE MidCap index and the BSE SmallCap index ended higher by 0.5%.

Barring automobile, all sectoral indices ended on a positive note with stocks in the banking sector and metal sector witnessing most of the buying.

Shares of HLE Glascoat and Info Edge hit their respective 52-week highs.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX were trading up by 0.1% at Rs 47,980 per 10 grams at the time of closing stock market hours on Thursday.

Speaking of the stock markets, India's #1 trader, Vijay Bhambwani, talks about market linked debentures (MLDs) and why you should consider investing in them, in his latest video for Fast Profits Daily.

Top Stocks in Focus Today

Among the buzzing stocks today will be auto stocks.

Passenger vehicle wholesales in India witnessed a decline of 41% year on year (YoY) in September as automobile manufacturers struggled to produce adequate units owing to semiconductor shortage, auto industry body SIAM said on Thursday.

Passenger vehicle sales last month stood at 1,60,070 units as compared to 2,72,027 units in the year ago period.

As per the latest data by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheeler dispatches to dealers also witnessed a dip of 17% at 15,28,472 units, compared to 18,49,546 in September 2020.

Motorcycle dispatches declined 22% last month to 9,48,161 units as against 12,24,117 in the year-ago period.

In the July-September quarter, passenger vehicle wholesales, witnessed a marginal increase of 2% to 7,41,300 units as compared to 7,26,232 units in the same period of last fiscal.

In a statement, SIAM President Kenichi Ayukawa said,

  • Indian automobile industry continues to face new challenges. While on one hand, we are seeing a revival in vehicle demand, on the other hand, shortage of semiconductor chips is causing a major concern for the industry. Many members have curtailed their production plans.

    High raw material prices also continue to be a challenge. The industry is taking all possible measures to mitigate the impact of such supply chain issues and optimise production.

Coupled with the festive season demand, this has led to long waiting time for the customers on popular models of some segments, he added.

Power sector stocks will also be in focus today.

The power crisis in five most-affected states is likely to ease soon as Tata Power restarted its mega power plant at Mundra on Wednesday after Punjab and Gujarat agreed to pay actual costs.

Reports state that other states are likely to follow.

The Gujarat government agreed to buy 1,800 MW power from Tata Power's ultra-mega power project at Rs 4.5 per unit-higher than tariff agreed in its executed contract-for four weeks, a government official said.

According to sources, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Haryana, beneficiaries of Tata Power's 4,000 MW project and Adani Power's 3,300 MW capacity, have also been negotiating with the companies over supply at actual cost on temporary basis.

The states have been buying the power at Rs 13-16 per unit.

In response to a query, Tata Power's executive told that it started one of its five 800 MW units at Mundra on Wednesday evening to supply power to Gujarat and Punjab.

The move is likely to lower spot power prices immediately while easing pressure on domestic coal, whose supplies have also started to improve.

India's WPI Inflation Rises to 10.66% in September

The wholesale price-based inflation eased to 10.66% in September, helped by moderating food prices even as crude petroleum witnessed a spike.

WPI inflation remained in double-digit for the sixth consecutive month. In August, it was 11.39%. In September 2020, inflation was 1.32%.

The high rate of inflation in September 2021 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, non-food articles, food products, crude petroleum & natural gas, chemicals and chemical products etc. as compared to the same month of the previous year, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a statement.

Inflation in food articles eased for the fifth straight month mainly due to easing vegetable prices. Pulses prices continued to spike at 9.42%.

Inflation in the fuel and power basket was 24.91% in September, against 26.09% in the previous month.

The rise in crude petroleum and natural gas prices was 43.92% in September over 40.03% in the previous month.

Steel Demand to Increase Next Year Even as Energy Crisis Looms

According to the World Steel Association, steel demand should climb again next year, even as a deepening energy crisis threatens the global economy's recovery from the pandemic.

Consumption will rise 2.2% to 1,896 million tonnes in 2022, a slower pace than this year's 4.5% increase, the industry group said on Thursday.

The main drivers of growth will be outside China as the country's real estate crisis undermines demand, it said.

The energy crisis and supply-chain bottlenecks pose risks to the recovery, with some European steelmakers being forced to curb output as power costs soar.

World steel association expects the rebound in car production to slow in 2022, with the sector continuing to suffer from a shortage of semiconductors.

How this pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more updates from this space.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

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