Sensex rises ahead of RBI policy outcome, Nifty tops 15,700; ONGC climbs 3%

NEW DELHI: Domestic stocks got off to a cautious start on Friday, as investors eyed the RBI policy outcome and the central bank's commentary on the economy to gauge the impact of wave two of Covid.

Analysts said a cut in the GDP growth forecast for FY22 is all likely. To give growth a chance, the six-member MPC is expected to maintain the status quo on the policy rate and maintain an accommodative stance, despite the prevailing inflation worries, they said.

At 9.25 am, the BSE Sensex was ruling 50 points or 0.10 per cent, higher at 52,283. The NSE Nifty50 was up 9.70 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 15,700. The weak trend in India was in line with other Asian markets that were trading sideways ahead of the US non-payroll data for May scheduled for later in the day.
"A 15,600 level on Nifty50 would be seen as intraday support and any sustainable move below this point would trigger a mild corrective move towards 15,525-15,450. It would be prudent to avoid aggressive leverage," said Sameet Chavan of Angel Broking.

Among Sensex stocks, ONGC rose 2.53 per cent to Rs 125.73. L&T was up 1.54 per cent at Rs 1,533.45. M&M, Tech Mahindra, and Power Grid added up to 1 per cent.

Nestle India declined 0.97 per cent to Rs 17,662.35. Titan Company fell 0.72 per cent to Rs 1,678. Dr Reddy's Labs, SBI and HDFC Bank shed up to 0.6 per cent. Reliance Industries fell half-a-percent despite a report suggesting telecom arm Jio may launch its affordable smartphone before Diwali.

Indranil Pan, Chief Economist at YES Securities said that he does see a realistic chance for the RBI to reduce its earlier growth forecast of 10.5 per cent. Any communication regarding G-SAPs will indicate a clear inclination of the RBI to enable the system to absorb any additional supplies of government papers, he said.

"Despite the risks of a build-up of inflationary pressures in the near term, RBI is likely to give higher priority to the concerns around growth recovery,” said Suman Chowdhury, Chief Analytical Officer, Acuité Ratings & Research.

Punjab National Bank, Bharat Forge, Bank of India, Jubilant Pharmova, MOIL, Varroc Engineerings, NIIT and Jammu Kashmir Bank are among companies that will announce their March quarter results today.