RBI on February 18 announced an interim dividend of an additional Rs 28,000 cr to the government, taking the total dividend received by the government in the current fiscal to Rs 68,000 cr.
The RBI's dividend number is not a surprise, but there would still be a relief rally in the bond markets because the amount has been declared, said MS Gopikrishnan, head of macro trading and financial markets, Standard Chartered Bank.
The rupee has been trading in a range of 71.80 to the dollar on the higher side and 70.40-70.50 on the lower side. Higher oil prices have impacted sentiment and the rupee is trading closer to 71.50 but there is huge resistance at 71.70 to the dollar, which is 100-day moving average, he said. "I don't expect rupee to break this range unless oil moves above $70 per barrel."
"So, in a near-term, the rupee could move to 71.70 to the dollar but by and large it is capped there," said Gopikrishnan.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on February 18 announced an interim dividend of an additional Rs 28,000 crore to the government, taking the total dividend received by the government in the current fiscal to Rs 68,000 crore.
The pullback in the yields could also be seen because the 10-year bond is sold off on a low 7.41 percent close to 7.60 percent now and is trading in that range now, noted Gopikrishnan. It is at the higher end of the range and so this news should help the market recover a beat, he added.
The open market operations (OMOs) have also been announced a day earlier because the markets are off on February 19. So, overall sentiment is okay. The oil prices are higher but that is already in the price, he added.
Source: CNBC-TV18
