Markets end higher as inflation cools to 6-yr low in Apr

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended higher on Wednesday as retail inflation eased to a nearly six-year low of 3.16 per cent in April, creating enough room for the RBI to go for another rate cut in the June monetary policy review.

A cooling US April inflation data and a pause in global trade tensions added to the positive trend in the equity markets, traders said.

In a highly volatile trade, the 30-share BSE benchmark gauge Sensex climbed 182.34 points or 0.22 per cent to settle at 81,330.56. The gauge hit a high of 81,691.87 and a low of 80,910.03.

The NSE Nifty rose 88.55 points or 0.36 per cent to 24,666.90.

From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services and Bharti Airtel were the major gainers.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel climbed nearly 1 per cent after it posted about a five-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 11,022 crore in the March 2025 quarter, mainly due to the tariff hike impact and one-time gain on tax benefits.

However, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC and Power Grid were among the laggards.

Tata Motors dipped over 1 per cent after the firm reported a 51 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,556 crore for the March quarter, hit by lower volumes and operating leverage.

Meanwhile, the retail inflation eased to a nearly six-year low of 3.16 per cent in April, mainly due to subdued prices of vegetables, fruits, pulses, and other protein-rich items, creating enough room for the Reserve Bank to go for another round of rate cuts in the June monetary policy review.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation was 3.34 per cent in March and 4.83 per cent in April 2024. It was 3.15 per cent in July 2019.

The wholesale price inflation dropped to a 13-month low of 0.85 per cent in April, with softening in prices of food articles, fuel and manufactured products, with experts projecting further easing in the data for next month, government data showed on Wednesday.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled higher while Japan's Nikkei 225 index ended lower.

Markets in Europe were trading mostly lower. US markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.13 per cent to USD 65.88 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 476.86 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

On Tuesday, the Sensex tanked 1,281.68 points or 1.55 per cent to settle at 81,148.22. The broader Nifty of NSE dropped 346.35 points or 1.39 per cent to 24,578.35.