Indian share markets recovered in the afternoon session to finish marginally lower amid mixed international markets. At the closing bell yesterday, the BSE Sensex closed lower by 21 points and the NSE Nifty finished lower by 16 points. The S&P BSE Mid Cap finished up by 0.3% while S&P BSE Small Cap finished up by 0.1%.

Losses were largely seen in realty stocks, oil & gas stocks and metal stocks. Bank stocks and consumer durables' stocks witnessed majority of the buying momentum.

WPI Inflation Eases

Continuing its easing trend for the third straight month, India's inflation on wholesale level softened in the month of February, with a sustained dip in food articles prices.

The fall in non-food articles prices also supported the wholesale price inflation (WPI) to come in line with the lower retail inflation.

According to the latest data released by the government, WPI stood at 2.48% (provisional) in February as against 2.84% (provisional) for the previous month and 5.51% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 2.30% compared to a build-up rate of 4.92% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Component wise, primary articles index having weight of 22.62%, dropped 1.3% to 128.0 (provisional) in February from 129.7 (provisional) for the previous month.

CARE Ratings believes that food prices will remain stable for the coming months. However, as per the reports inflation may witness a uptick due to rise in global oil prices, unseasonal weather patterns, hike in Minimum Support Price (MSP) for select crops and probability of increase in prices of commodity due to trade tariffs.

Top Stocks to Watch Out

Bharti Airtel share price is expected to witness some action in today's trade after the company's committee of directors has approved the allotment of 30,000 debentures, for raising about Rs 30 billion on private placement basis. The proceeds of the issue would be used for general corporate purpose including routine treasury activities and refinancing of existing debt and spectrum liabilities.

Yes bank share price finished previous session up by 1.9% on the BSE after it was reported that the bank has acquired 17.31% stake in Fortis Healthcare Ltd following invocation of nearly 90 million pledged shares last month.

TVS Motor company share price is expected to be in limelight today after the company launched the new 2018 TVS Apache RTR 160 4V at Rs 81,490 to Rs. 89,990.

Torrent Pharma share price is expected see some action after it was reported that the company is likely to raise at least Rs 15 billion by selling shares to institutional investors, as it prepares a bid for the generic drugs unit of France's Sanofi.

IPO Segment

The initial public offering (IPO) of Bharat Dynamics received 37.23% subscription on the second day of the bidding process on Wednesday.

Bharat Dynamics, a pure defence play, aims to raise Rs 9.6 billion from the offer. The price band of the issue has been fixed between Rs 413 and Rs 428.

The company is the only manufacturer of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and surface to air missiles (SAMs). It also manufactures test equipment, underwater weapons, launchers, and countermeasures, among others. Besides, it is co-development partner with the DRDO for the next generation of ATGMs and SAMs.

After such stellar response to IPOs in 2017, all focus and attention will shift to the major IPOs in the upcoming new year 2018 which includes IPOs of HDFC Asset Management Company, NSE and IRCTC to name a few.

Bitcoin Prices Stay Below US$9000

Bitcoin opened at US$9,144.15 and were trading below the US$9,000 levels amid fears Google's new advertising policies would impact the popular crypto token.

On Wednesday morning, Google announced severe changes to its "advertising ecosystem", chief among them updated policies on cryptocurrency.

The company said it has been combating fraud, malware and content scammers for the past 15 years. The new cryptocurrency ad policies are set to take effect in June.

Global Markets Remain Mixed

Asian markets closed lower on Wednesday following the sacking of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and amid talk of potential U.S. tariffs against China.

Overnight news that the Trump administration was looking into a tough trade package against China likely weighed on markets. The package could include indefinite tariffs and investment restrictions. Trump could reportedly impose tariffs on US$60 billion of Chinese goods.

European markets latched small gains buoyed after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said its bond-buying program will likely continue if underlying inflation in the region remains subdued.

Meanwhile, investors were sifting through more corporate updates, including one from Adidas AG that sent shares of the German sports gear maker flying higher by double digits.

Oil Prices Rise

Oil prices were flat on Wednesday in Asia, having edged up slightly after two days of decline. Support on Wednesday came from a report that U.S. crude inventories are not rising as much as expected during the spring season that is starting, implying healthy demand.