Market turns choppy, trades in loss on inflation fears

Mumbai: The market switched direction many times today as the Sensex fell into the loss zone, unnerved by a rise in both CPI and WPI inflation. Investors now turned their focus to September quarterly earnings due on Tuesday.

The 30-share BSE index after hovering between 33,126.55 and 32.971.78 hit 32,941.78 at 1215 hours, down 91.78 points, or 0.28 per cent. The broader NSE Nifty too traded down by 33.50 points, or 0.33 per cent, at 10,191.45 .

Consumer inflation (CPI) jumped to a 7-month high of 3.58 per cent in October, driven by costlier food items, particularly vegetables. Wholesale inflation (WPI) too spiked to 3.59 per cent in October, from 2.6 per cent in September, official data showed on Tuesday.

Notable losers include L&T (1.96 per cent), along with PowerGrid, TCS and Asian Paints. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 233.58 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also sold shares worth a net Rs 268.77 crore. Overseas, Asian markets wobbled as investors waited for developments on the US tax reforms front.