Domestic indices trade lower ahead of RBI policy announcement

Indian equity markets have made negative start and are trading lower in early deals on Thursday on weak cues from the global markets. Traders are sidelines ahead of the key RBI policy announcement. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will unveil the bi-monthly monetary policy statement at 10 am. The Reserve Bank of India is expected to hold its key rates at the policy review, but may sound more confident about reaching its 4 per cent inflation objective. Foreign fund outflows dented sentiments. On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold stocks worth Rs 3,314.76 crore. On the sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Healthcare, Realty, Telecom, Consumer Durables and FMCG, while selling was witnessed in Oil & Gas, Energy, Metal, IT and PSU. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red on weak cues from the US markets overnight. The US markets ended lower on Wednesday as concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy continued to hang over the markets. Back home, in the stock specific development, MTAR Technologies surged on bagging export orders worth $16.73 million 

 The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79300.04, down by 167.97 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 79142.04 and 79422.15. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green and red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.19%, while Small cap index up by 0.49%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.41%, Realty up by 0.34%, Telecom up by 0.29%, Consumer Durables up by 0.28%, and FMCG up by 0.11%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.86%, Energy down by 0.69%, Metal down by 0.69%, IT down by 0.61%, PSU down by 0.55% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.07%, Titan  up by 0.92%, ITC up by 0.51%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.45% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.41%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.48%, JSW Steel down by 1.28%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.20%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.03% and Power Grid down by 0.99% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, asserting that India's rise is unstoppable, Vice President (VP) Jagdeep Dhankhar has said the country will become the third largest economy in the world in two years. He expressed confidence that the optimal utilisation will take place to promote handlooms, the need of the hour, the need of the country, and the need of the planet, if Indian think in terms of climate change.

He stated the 'Be Vocal for Local' clarion call given by the Prime Minister has economic freedom at this core, with handloom products being one of its key elements. Further, strongly advocating economic nationalism, he said it is fundamental to the country's spinal economic growth and will lead to three key impacts including foreign exchange savings, employment generation and boosting entrepreneurship.

He stated ‘I want everyone to respect national interest. Can we sacrifice economic nationalism merely for fiscal gain. I have no doubt; no fiscal gain, irrespective of quantum, can justify engaging in imports that are avoidable.’ Pointing out that India is the world's most populous country, he observed that ‘today no one can say we are a nation with potential as we are on the rise.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24235.15, down by 62.35 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 24198.40 and 24263.50. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 1.69%, Cipla up by 1.41%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.76%, Titan up by 0.76% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.39%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.67%, JSW Steel down by 1.46%, ONGC down by 1.41%, Shriram Finance down by 1.33% and LTIMindtree down by 1.18% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading in red; KOSPI dropped 13.56 points or 0.53% to 2,554.85, Nikkei 225 slipped 192.78 points or 0.55% to 34,896.84, Taiwan Weighted lost 235.93 points or 1.11% to 21,059.35 and Jakarta Composite plunged 22.24 points or 0.31% to 7,189.89. However, Hang Seng advanced 137.38 points or 0.81% to 17,015.24, Shanghai Composite strengthened 10.78 points or 0.37% to 2,880.61, Straits Times rose 8.61 points or 0.26% to 3,258.33.