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Benchmark indices remain cautious in the early trades ahead of the RBI's Monetary Policy review. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will announce the second Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2013-14 today at 11 AM.
By 10:15, the Sensex has declined by 46 points at 20,524 mark and the Nifty slipped by 17 points at 6,084 levels.
Analysts broadly expect RBI to raise its repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) and cut marginal standing facility (MSF) by 25 bps.
The market will remain volatile this week as traders will roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month to November series. The near month October derivatives contract will expire on Thursday.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 636.78 crore on Monday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
On the global front, Asian shares wavered in recent ranges and the dollar held not far above its recent lows on Tuesday, as investors awaited the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week, at which it is widely expected to stay the course on stimulus.
Australian shares shed about 0.3% after surging 1% on Monday to a new five-year high, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was weaving in and out of positive territory.
Japan's Nikkei stock average gave up about 0.1% but was off session lows, bolstered by data showing consumer spending in Japan jumped in September as shoppers frontloaded purchases before a sales tax increase next year.
Back home, the rupee was trading stable ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) second quarter monetary policy review at 11:00 am.
At 10:05 am, the rupee was quoting at Rs 61.64 compared with previous close of Rs 61.53 per dollar.
On the sectoral front, BSE Consumer Durables and Oil & Gas indices have gained by 1% each. However, BSE Capital Goods, Realty and Bankex indices have plummeted between 1-2%.
Capital goods majors like BHEL and L&T have plunged between 2-3%.
Banking and financial shares like SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC have fallen between 0.4-1%.
Other notable losers are Bajaj Auto, GAIL, Cipla, M&M, Tata Steel and Hindalco.
On the gaining side, Maruti Suzuki, ONGC, Sesa Sterlite, Dr Reddy’s Lab and Sun Pharma have gained between 1-5.5%.
Maruti Suzuki India has rallied over 5% on NSE & BSE after reporting a better than expected net profit at Rs 670 crore for the quarter ended September 2013 (Q2FY2014), driven by strong growth in exports, favorable exchange rate and cost control measures. Analyst on an average had expected profit of Rs 551 crore for the quarter. The company had reported profit of Rs 227 crore in year ago quarter.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is trading higher by 1.4% at Rs 613 after the company said it has addressed the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (USFDA) concerns about quality control breaches at a U.S. subsidiary that was shut down by the regulator for three years because of manufacturing flaws.
The broader markets are under performing the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have slipped by 0.4%.
The market breadth in BSE remains weak with 743 shares declining and 475 shares advancing.
