Sensex, Nifty end flat as RBI holds policy rate; BHEL, Bharti Airtel gain nearly 3%
NEW DELHI: Domestic equity indices Sensex and Nifty settled flat on Wednesday after the Reserve Bank of India kept the key policy rate unchanged at 6.75 per cent in its sixth bimonthly money policy review.
The BSE Sensex closed 45.24 points down at 28,289, while the Nifty50 settled 0.75 points higher at 8,769.
The market had a lacklustre session as investors awaited the money policy decision of the Reserve Bank of India. But as soon as the central bank announced status quo in its policy announcement, the benchmark Sensex crashed nearly 200 points only to stage a smart rebound to end the day marginally lower.
In its money policy review, RBI kept policy rate on hold for the second time in a row, opting to wait for more clarity on the trend for inflation and on how a radical crackdown on "black money" would impact economic growth.
“The day started on a cautious note with investors choosing to stay on the fence at the start of the day. The indices nosedived in late afternoon trade after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.25%, for the second time in a row and indicated a shift in policy stance from accommodative to neutral. However, markets did recover in the last few minutes of trade to finally close the day near the flat line,” said Karthikraj Lakshmanan, Senior Fund Manager – Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.
Foreign institutional investors net bought Indian equities worth Rs 201.13 crore in Tuesday’s trade while domestic institutional investors net bought Indian equities worth a whopping Rs 1,620 crore.
The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained more compared with the benchmark Sensex, rising half-a- per cent and 0.22 per cent respectively.
Sectoral performance for the day was mixed. While banking and FMCG stocks traded lower, media and metals stocks saw some buying interest.
“Bank Nifty and other broader indices responded fairly well with them finding support at initial support levels which were established two days back in a correction mode. Bank Nifty still looks good with a buy on dips strategy towards 20800 while Nifty is seeing momentum towards 8890 - 8920 based on OI data,” said Mustafa Nadeem, CEO, Epic Research.
Infrastructure, retail, gems & jewellery, auto ancillaries and telecom were among the top gainers, while glass and rubber-related stocks were among the top losers.
In the Nifty50 index, BHEL rose 3.09 per cent, Bharti Infratel 2.90 per cent, Grasim 2.83 per cent, ACC 2.76 per cent and Idea Cellular 2.42 per cent to emerge top gainers.
On the other hand, Dr Reddy’s Labs (down 1.67 per cent) , Sun Pharma (down 1.16 per cent) , Hero MotoCorp (down 1.10 per cent) , Tata Steel (down 1.02 per cent) and ITC (down 1.01 per cent) were among the main laggards.
Shares of LT Foods, Karma Energy, Kopran, Mukand Engg, V2 Retail hit their fresh 52-week high on NSE , while JMT Auto, DB International, Raj Rayon, Beardsell and BSE. touched their new 52-week lows.
On Wednesday, 32 stocks advanced in the Nifty50 index, while 19 stocks ended the day in the red.
The BSE Sensex closed 45.24 points down at 28,289, while the Nifty50 settled 0.75 points higher at 8,769.
The market had a lacklustre session as investors awaited the money policy decision of the Reserve Bank of India. But as soon as the central bank announced status quo in its policy announcement, the benchmark Sensex crashed nearly 200 points only to stage a smart rebound to end the day marginally lower.
In its money policy review, RBI kept policy rate on hold for the second time in a row, opting to wait for more clarity on the trend for inflation and on how a radical crackdown on "black money" would impact economic growth.
“The day started on a cautious note with investors choosing to stay on the fence at the start of the day. The indices nosedived in late afternoon trade after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.25%, for the second time in a row and indicated a shift in policy stance from accommodative to neutral. However, markets did recover in the last few minutes of trade to finally close the day near the flat line,” said Karthikraj Lakshmanan, Senior Fund Manager – Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.
Foreign institutional investors net bought Indian equities worth Rs 201.13 crore in Tuesday’s trade while domestic institutional investors net bought Indian equities worth a whopping Rs 1,620 crore.
The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained more compared with the benchmark Sensex, rising half-a- per cent and 0.22 per cent respectively.
Sectoral performance for the day was mixed. While banking and FMCG stocks traded lower, media and metals stocks saw some buying interest.
“Bank Nifty and other broader indices responded fairly well with them finding support at initial support levels which were established two days back in a correction mode. Bank Nifty still looks good with a buy on dips strategy towards 20800 while Nifty is seeing momentum towards 8890 - 8920 based on OI data,” said Mustafa Nadeem, CEO, Epic Research.
Infrastructure, retail, gems & jewellery, auto ancillaries and telecom were among the top gainers, while glass and rubber-related stocks were among the top losers.
In the Nifty50 index, BHEL rose 3.09 per cent, Bharti Infratel 2.90 per cent, Grasim 2.83 per cent, ACC 2.76 per cent and Idea Cellular 2.42 per cent to emerge top gainers.
On the other hand, Dr Reddy’s Labs (down 1.67 per cent) , Sun Pharma (down 1.16 per cent) , Hero MotoCorp (down 1.10 per cent) , Tata Steel (down 1.02 per cent) and ITC (down 1.01 per cent) were among the main laggards.
Shares of LT Foods, Karma Energy, Kopran, Mukand Engg, V2 Retail hit their fresh 52-week high on NSE , while JMT Auto, DB International, Raj Rayon, Beardsell and BSE. touched their new 52-week lows.
On Wednesday, 32 stocks advanced in the Nifty50 index, while 19 stocks ended the day in the red.
