Markets trade flat as investors eye RBI's MPC decision

Indian equity markets have made negative start and are trading flat in early deals on Friday ahead of the key interest rate decision by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The MPC's three-day meeting is set to conclude today with a repo rate announcement. Meanwhile, broader indices were trading marginally in red with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index falling in the range of 0.05-0.35%. Traders were cautious as foreign investors net sold shares worth Rs 1,944 on Thursday. Telecom industry related stocks were buzzing as the Department of Telecommunications has proposed one-way spectrum sharing among telecom operators that will enable service providers to monetise and optimally deploy unused radio waves.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red amid mixed cued form the US markets overnight. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen piling up positions in   Realty, IT, Auto, TECK and Power, while selling was witnessed in Telecom, Energy, Consumer Durables, Healthcare and Oil & Gas. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 85246.67, down by 18.65 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 85078.12 and 85318.86. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.08%, while Small cap index down by 0.33%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.25%, IT up by 0.21%, Auto up by 0.20%, TECK up by 0.10% and Power up by 0.06%, while Telecom down by 0.56%, Energy down by 0.39%, Consumer Durables down by 0.31%, Healthcare down by 0.27% and Oil & Gas down by 0.22% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 0.91%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.76%, Power Grid up by 0.69%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.48% and Infosys up by 0.48%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.71%, Reliance Industries down by 0.92%, Trent down by 0.57%, Tata MotorsPassenger down by 0.38% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.31% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India has emphasised on the need to reduce trade barriers, and boost exports to Russia with an aim to bridge the widening trade deficit between the two countries. Goyal said there are huge opportunities to expand bilateral trade and there is a need to make it more balanced.

He said sectors that hold potential to boost exports from India to Russia include consumer goods, food products, automobiles, tractors, heavy commercial vehicles, electronics like smartphones, industrial components, and textiles. He stated ‘The bilateral trade has crossed $70 billion but we cannot rest, we need to grow, we need to balance that. He said the trade gap is very skewed.

He said ‘We need to bring more diversity in our trade basket. We need to make it more balanced. We need more variety and there is so much to offer between the two countries. He added there is untapped potential which needs to be explored. Moreover, he said ‘We can take so much from Russia and we have so much to offer to Russia. Sky is the limit...and that will address the trade imbalance in the near future...we will work together to eliminate or reduce or dilute the trade barriers, if any.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 26040.35, up by 6.60 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 25985.35 and 26061.95. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 1.41%, Eternal up by 1.01%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.79%, Wipro up by 0.78% and Eicher Motors up by 0.75%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 0.74%, Trent down by 0.47%, Max Healthcare down by 0.46%, Tata Consumer down by 0.41% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.31% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 743.42 points or 1.48% to 50,285.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 2.22 points or 0.01% to 27,793.49, Hang Seng declined 50.9 points or 0.2% to 25,885.00 and Straits Times fell 12.9 points or 0.29% to 4,522.24. However, Jakarta Composite gained 14.06 points or 0.16% to 8,654.26, Shanghai Composite strengthened 3.2 points or 0.08% to 3,878.99 however, KOSPI increased 41.04 points or 1.01% to 4,069.55.