Markets climb in early trade ahead of RBI monetary policy decision

MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices climbed in early trade on Wednesday ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision.

Buying in banking and IT stocks added to the positive trend in markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 123.45 points or 0.15 per cent to 81,758.26 in early trade. The NSE went up 39.65 points or 0.16 per cent to 25,052.80.

Among the 30 Sensex companies, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki India, HCL Technologies, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints and Axis Bank were the gainers.

ITC, Nestle India, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries and JSW Steel were the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,729.60 crore on Tuesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 7,000.68 crore, according to exchange data.

"The 'Sell India, Buy China' strategy pursued by the FIIs recently appears to be coming to an end as indicated by the declining FII sell numbers and the profit booking in Chinese stocks, particularly those listed in Hong Kong," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.

FIIs are selling on valuation concerns and DIIs are buying because they have deep pockets to buy and the pockets are getting deeper. This trend is likely to continue, Vijayakumar added.

Market participants also kept a close eye on the RBI's monetary policy.

Experts are of the opinion that the RBI may not follow the US Federal Reserve, which lowered the benchmark rates by 50 basis points, and the central banks of some developed nations, which have since reduced the interest rates.

"BJP's victory in Haryana has come as a morale booster for the party and confidence booster for markets. The sentiments will get a further boost if the MPC decides to change the monetary stance from accommodative to neutral and sound a bit dovish today. A rate cut, however, is unlikely since food inflation continues to be a worry," he said.

In Asian markets, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading in the red territory while Tokyo was quoting in the green.

Global oil benchmark Brent Crude climbed 0.32 per cent to USD 77.43 a barrel.

US markets ended with gains in overnight deals on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 584.81 points or 0.72 per cent to close at 81,634.81. The NSE Nifty jumped 217.40 points or 0.88 per cent to finish at 25,013.15.