Markets flat after RBI keeps key rates unchanged

On the expected lines, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained status quo on key benchmark rates. The repo rate remained unchanged at 6.75% while the CRR remained unaltered at 4%. 

The central bank has maintained a cautious stance ahead of the US Federal Reserve policy meet. Markets have held on to  their gains post the RBI statement.

At 11:00 AM, Sensex was at 26,191, up by 45 points while the Nifty was 7,970, up by 35 points.


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(updated 10:40 am)

Markets have come off day’s high as investors have turned cautious ahead of the RBI monetary policy.


At 10:40 am, Sensex was trading at 26,196, up by 51 points while the Nifty was at 7,961 points, up by 26 points.

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Updated at 9:40 am

Indian equities opened the session on a cheery note following a mild uptick in second quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers.  Meanwhile, during the morning trades, market participants will enter into a pause as the Reserve Bank of India will announce its fifth bi-monthly monetary policy today at 11:00 AM.

Most analysts and economists believe that the monetary policy announcement will be a non-event as far as interest-rate cut is concerned. However, traders will enter into the last month of the year on a cautious note after the Sensex retreated 1.9 % in November, the most since August, as foreigners pulled $793 million, the biggest monthly withdrawal since September.

At 9:40 am,  Sensex opened at 26,214, up by 68 points while the Nifty opened at 7,962 points, up by 27 points. The broader markets are outperforming their larger peers with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices up by 0.5% each.

According to a morning note from AnandRathi, "Nifty needs to hold above 7900 zones with follow up buying interest to continue the bounce back move towards 8000and 8050 levels. However if it fails to hold 7850 zones then the index may again go lower and consolidate in the trading range between 7850 and 7725 zones. Traders are required to take calculated risk ahead of RBI policy, FOMC meet, CPI, IIP and WPI data."

 
India’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the three-month period ended  September 30 grew 7.4%— slightly higher than the 7% in the previous quarter — with a boost from manufacturing and financial services.

India's November PMI print is set to be unveiled later today, but RBI policy will hog the limelight and weigh on the performance of the rate-sensitive stocks.

Asian shares edged up on Tuesday, as investors awaited Chinese factory surveys later in the session amid persistent concerns about cooling growth in the world's second-biggest economy.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.3% in early trading, while Japan's Nikkei added 0.5%.

Wall Street lost ground overnight, though major US indexes still gained for the second straight month.

STOCKS IN FOCUS

Sectorally, rate-sensitive stocks are in focus today. However, BSE Metal index, up by 1.4% is supporting the surge in market.

Banking and financial shares are in green ahead of the RBI policy. SBI, HDFC twins, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank are all up between  0.1-0.5%

The metal pack is witnessing some buying demand and has pushed the metal stocks in strong position. Tata Steel, Vedanta, Hindalco, Coal India are all up between 1.5-3% each

The second quarter GDP numbers were in line with the expectations as it was supported by surge in manufacturing activity. LT, BHEL, Siemens, are up by 0.3% each.

Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) today slashed petrol prices by 58 paise per litre and prices of diesel by 25 paise per litre to align domestic rates with global petroleum product prices. BPCL, HPCL, OIL, IOC have climbed over 1%

Among other shares, Emami Paper Mills is investing Rs 1,000 crore to double the capacity of its paperboard unit at Balgopalpur near here in the next three years. The stock zoomed 14.5%

Nestle India has resumed the production of Maggi across the country. The stock inched 0.3% on the BSE.