mumbai,aug 6
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened marginally higher on Friday ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy decision.The 30-share index was trading 54.98 points or 0.10 per cent higher at 54,547.82, while the broader NSE Nifty inched 17.50 points or 0.11 per cent higher to 16,312.10.The RBI will announce its bi-monthly monetary policy amid expectations that it may opt for status quo on interest rates on account of inflationary concerns.IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 3 per cent, followed by M&M, Maruti, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma and NTPC.On the other hand, HCL Tech, Titan, Nestle India and Infosys were among the laggards.In the previous session, Sensex settled 123.07 points or 0.23 per cent higher at its new closing record of 54,492.84, and Nifty rose 35.80 points or 0.22 per cent to its lifetime peak of 16,294.60.According to V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, there are two major factors supporting the ongoing bull run: one, the strength of the mother market the US, riding on the support from huge liquidity and highly accommodative monetary stance of the Fed; two, the exuberance of the retail investors who are exerting a disproportionate influence on market movements.”While retail investor participation is a desirable trend, it is important to note the fact that the quality of retail investment – chasing low-quality cheap stocks – leaves a lot to be desired. In the long run, the majority of retail investors will be better- off investing through mutual funds,” he said.Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 719.88 crore on Thursday, as per provisional exchange data.Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were in the red in mid-session deals, while Tokyo was trading with gains.Equities on Wall Street largely ended on a positive note in overnight trade.Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude advanced 0.14 per cent to USD 71.39 per barrel.Equity benchmark Sensex dropped 215 points on Friday, tracking losses in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC and SBI, after the Reserve Bank kept interest rates unchanged and maintained its accommodative stance.
The 30-share index ended 215.12 points or 0.39 per cent lower at 54,277.72, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 56.40 points or 0.35 per cent to 16,238.20.Reliance Industries was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding over 2 per cent, followed by UltraTech Cement, SBI, Tata Steel, HDFC and Axis Bank. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Maruti, NTPC and Bajaj Auto were among the gainers.
Binod Modi, Head – Strategy at Reliance Securities, said domestic equities traded range-bound but sharp correction in RIL dragged the market.”RBI’s policy meeting outcome was broadly on expected line with continued focus to support economic recovery through soft monetary policy,” he said, adding that RIL witnessed sharp correction after the Supreme Court’s ruling came in favour of Amazon in the Reliance-Future Group deal.
