Sensex to see a cautious open in the aftermath of Wednesday’s crash

• Sensex is set to open on a cautious footing after Wednesday’s bloodbath.
• India’s Sensex lost over 1.0% on Wednesday, undermined by small and midcap indices.
• Attention now shifts toward India’s WPI data, US Retail Sales and PPI inflation data.

The Sensex 30, one of India’s key benchmark indices, is set to open on a cautious foot on Thursday, having ended Wednesday over one percent on the back of heavy bleeding in small and midcap indices.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex 30 settled 1.23% lower on the day at 72,761.89. The BSE Midcap index crashed nearly 4.0% while the BSE Smallcap index plunged 4.5%.

Stock market news

• The top gainers on Sensex on Wednesday were ITC, Nestle, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance and ICICI Bank. Meanwhile, the top losers include Power Grid, NTPC, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and JSW Steel.
• India's rising valuations prompted investors and foreign companies to sell their holdings.
• According to a risk disclosure format that the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) has shared with fund houses, Mutual Funds (MFs) will have to disclose the total investment of the top 10 investors in two active schemes.
• In adherence to the Amfi regulation, MFs are poised to release their inaugural stress test reports later this week but this will necessitate additional disclosures. 
• Shares of Powergrid and NTPC tanked nearly 7.0%.
• Shares of ITC rebounded amid an expected 3.50% stake sale by British American Tobacco (BAT) in the company on Wednesday.
• Indian government allowed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to import gold without paying import levies.
• India’s headline CPI retail inflation came in at 5.09% in February compared to the 5.1% print for January. Meanwhile, the country’s Industrial Production stayed unchanged at 3.8% in January, missing the estimates of 4.1%.
• The US stock markets failed to sustain the previous rebound and closed mixed on Wednesday, as investors now look for more US economic data after the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) report failed to have any impact on the June Fed rate cut expectations.
• The US CPI rose 3.2%  in February from a year ago, beating the market forecast of 3.1%. The monthly CPI increased 0.4% in the same period. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, increased 0.4% from the last month and 3.8% over the year.
• Markets continue to price in about a 70% chance that the Fed could begin easing rates in June, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
• Attention now turns toward the Indian Wholesale Price Index (WPI), US Retail Sales and Producer Price Index (PPI) data due later on Thursday.