Indian stocks remain steady; no immediate triggers for sharp movement

New Delhi [India], August 23 : Indian stock indices continued to trade on a steady note on Wednesday. At the opening bell, Sensex and Nifty were just 0.07 per cent lower from the previous closing.
“Now, there are no immediate triggers which can take the market sharply up or down. Investors may wait and watch for new data expected this weekend from the U S. Since the dollar index and the US bond yields remain high, FIIs will not be strong buyers in the market,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have remained net buyers in Indian stock markets for the sixth straight month, according to data from the National Securities Depository (NSDL). But the quantum of inflow has slowed in the current month.
FPIs bought Indian stocks worth Rs 7,936 crore, Rs 11,631 crore, Rs 43,838 crore, Rs 47,148 crore, and Rs 46,618 crore in March, April, May, June, and July, respectively, data showed. In August, they have thus far bought assets worth Rs 7,691 crore with a week still to go.
So far in 2023, foreign investors have put in Rs 130,716 crore in the Indian stock markets.
The latest foreign funds making their way into Indian stocks buoyed the broader market as the indices have been touching their respective fresh peaks every now and then. Notably, Sensex recently breached the 67,000 mark for the first time in mid-July. Firm economic outlook, firm global markets, and a relative moderation in inflation then contributed to the bull run in Indian stocks.
Now, the benchmark Sensex is hovering around 65,000, with June and July inflation figures having depressed the market sentiments.
Retail inflation in India rose sharply in July to 7.44 per cent and in the process breached RBI's 6 per cent upper tolerance target, largely due to a sharp spurt in vegetable, fruits, and pulses prices. The rise in inflation could partly be attributed to the current spurt in tomato and other vegetable prices across India. The rise in tomato prices is reported across the country, and not just limited to a particular region or geography. In key cities, it rose to as high as Rs 150-200 per kg.
In its latest policy meeting, the Reserve Bank of India upwardly revised the country’s retail inflation projections for 2023-24 at 5.4 per cent, against 5.1 per cent it projected in its previous monetary policy meeting in June.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, as part of his remarks after the policy meeting, said assuming a normal monsoon, retail inflation is revised to 5.4 per cent, with Q2 at 6.2 per cent, Q3 at 5.7 per cent and Q4 at 5.2 per cent. Retail inflation for Q1 2024-25 is projected at 5.2 per cent.
“The month of July has witnessed accentuation of food inflation, primarily on account of vegetables. The spike in tomato prices and further increase in prices of cereals and pulses have contributed to this. Consequently, a substantial increase in headline inflation would occur in the nearterm,” Das said.
He reiterated what he said after the June meeting — “Bringing headline inflation within the tolerance band is not enough; we need to remain firmly focused on aligning inflation to the target of 4.0 per cent," he said.