Indices dip on rate hike fear

STOCK REPORT

Key indices ended down nearly 1 per cent, as investors were cautious on worries the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may hike interest rates in its monetary policy review on Wednesday.

According to a NewsWire18 poll last week, the RBI is widely expected to hike repo and reverse repo rates by 25 basis points each.

"There are fears of surprise hikes by the RBI. Also, no fresh positions were built on Monday as tomorrow (Tuesday) is a holiday," a dealer said.

Markets will remain closed on Tuesday on account of Moharram.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex ended at 14,211.96, down 70.76 points or 0.5 per cent from Thursday. It hit an intraday high of 14,316.54.

The National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty ended at 4,120.60, down 27.10 points or 0.7 per cent, after touching a lifetime high of 4,167.15 at opening.

CNX Midcap ended up 0.1 per cent and S&P CNX 500 Index was down 0.3 per cent. On the BSE, advances evened declines.

Reliance Communications rose 4 per cent to Rs 455, as its cost efficiency is expected to rise after the company transferred its wireless towers to its subsidiary, Reliance Telecom Infrastructure.

On Wednesday, Reliance Communications will detail October-December results.

Bharat Heavy Electrical was up 3 per cent at Rs 2,509 after it approved on Thursday 1-for-1 bonus issue and interim dividend of Rs 12.50 a share.

Hindalco Industries rose 3 per cent to Rs 181 on talk the company may acquire global aluminium products maker Novelis for $5-6 billion.

Ranbaxy Laboratories gained 1 per cent at Rs 402 after it received a positive verdict from a Canadian court to market anti-cholesterol drug atorvastatin in Canada after May 7.

Bank shares were down amid worries their costs would increase if RBI hikes a key overnight interest rate on Wednesday.

BSE Bank Index, down 2 per cent, was the worst hit among the BSE indices.