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Indian equity benchmarks ended flat with positive bias on Monday, failing to sustain gains made earlier in the day. The benchmarks staged a gap opening, as sentiments got a boost as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said Indian economy is back in action and it is clear from several indicators such as rising exports and increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the country. Some support also came with outgoing chief economic advisor K V Subramanian’s statement that Indian economy is expected to see a double-digit growth in 2021-22 and between 6.5-7 per cent in the next financial year. He said that he does not expect commodity inflation will taper the V-shaped recovery going forward. Sentiments remained positive with Sebi chief Ajay Tyagi’s statement that the decision to implement a shorter settlement system in a phased manner beginning February 2022 will go a long way in protecting investors' interest. 

However, profit booking at higher levels led to the benchmarks coming off intraday highs. Traders got anxious with data showing that retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) inched up to 4.48 per cent in October compared to 4.35 per cent in September, due to an uptick in food prices. Though, it eased compared with 7.61 per cent in October 2020. Besides, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) indicating industrial growth slipped to 3.1 per cent in September, mainly due to the waning low base effect while mining and manufacturing sectors performed well. Some pessimism also came as WPI inflation in October surged to 12.54% from 10.66% a month ago and 1.31% in October 2020. The high rate of inflation in October 2021 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, food products, crude petroleum & natural gas, chemicals and chemical products etc as compared the corresponding month of the previous year.  

On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly higher on Monday, while European markets were trading mostly in green, as a slew of strong economic data from China helped offset investor concerns around inflation. Industrial production in China was up 3.5 percent year-on-year in October, exceeding estimates for 3.0 percent and up from 3.1 percent in September. The bureau also said that retail sales jumped an annual 4.9 percent - again beating expectations for 3.5 percent and up from 4.4 percent in the previous month. Investors awaited speeches by a number of Federal Reserve officials this week for additional clues on interest rates and monetary policy going forward. Back home, on the sectoral front, coal industry stocks were in focus with a private report showing that India's coal import rose by 12.6 per cent to 107.34 million tonnes in the first six months of 2021-22. Steel industry’s stocks too were in watch as Steel Ministry's additional secretary Rasika Chaube has said that steel prices in the country have risen but are still competitive as compared to prices of the metal in the international markets, driven by the market dynamics.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 32.02 points or 0.05% to 60,718.71 and the CNX Nifty was up by 6.70 points or 0.04% to 18,109.45.  

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.41%, while Small cap index was down by 0.19%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 2.09%, FMCG up by 0.80%, Consumer Durables up by 0.55%, IT up by 0.33% and Power up by 0.31%, while Metal down by 2.35%, Basic Materials down by 0.94%, Telecom down by 0.70%, Energy down by 0.49% and Capital Goods down by 0.38% were the losing indices on BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 3.46%, ITC up by 2.12%, Asian Paints up by 1.44%, Nestle up by 1.24% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.04%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 3.24%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.19%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.89%, SBI down by 0.89% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.77% were the top losers. 

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said Indian economy is back in action and it is clear from several indicators such as rising exports and increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the country. Goyal stated that merchandise exports during April-October this fiscal stood at $232 billion and total FDI during the first four months of this fiscal rose by 62 per cent.

He added there was growth in employment over the same month last year, and manufacturing PMI rose to 55.9 in October while services PMI reached a decade high of 58.4 in the month.

Further, he said that global sentiments are changing from 'Why India' to 'Why not India' to now Make in India for the world’ and serve the world from India. Besides, he stated ensuring transparent, trustworthy and resilient supply chains is at the core of trade revival and India has emerged as a source of resilience and a trusted partner during COVID-19.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 18,210.15 and 18,071.30 and there were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 3.13%, ONGC up by 2.46%, ITC up by 2.25%, Cipla up by 2.24% and UPL up by 1.59%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 4.34%, Tata Steel down by 3.32%, Hindalco down by 2.68%, Eicher Motors down by 1.47% and SBI Life Insurance down by 1.46% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC increased 20.11 points or 0.28% to 7,111.51 and Germany’s DAX increased 26.97 points or 0.17% to 16,121.04, while UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 3.05 points or 0.04% to 7,344.86.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Monday tracking Wall Street gains overnight despite worries around inflation, while investors are awaiting speeches of Federal Reserve officials this week for further clues on interest rates and monetary policy. Further, better-than-expected data from the world’s second largest economy China too kept the market sentiments bullish. Data showed Industrial output and retail sales in China grew at a surprisingly faster pace in October and beat expectations, with industrial output growing 3.5 percent from a 3.1 percent increase in September, and retail sales rising 4.9 percent year-on-year. Japanese shares advanced as worse-than-expected contraction of Japanese economy in the third quarter fuelled expectations of economic stimulus package from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. However, Chinese shares ended tad lower ahead of the virtual summit of the leaders of the United States and China set for today evening . 

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