Stock markets turn volatile in early trade ahead of RBI’s monetary policy decision

Sensex and Nifty swung between gains and losses in early Friday trade as investors awaited the RBI’s policy decision amid FII outflows and mixed global cues. Select IT, auto and power stocks gained, while Reliance, Airtel and HDFC Bank declined 

 Mumbai: Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty faced highly volatile trends in early trade on Friday ahead of the RBI’s monetary policy decision due later in the day. Investors also remained on the sidelines amid relentless foreign fund outflows and mixed global trends.

The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 53.54 points to 85,318.86 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 28.2 points to 26,061.95.

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Both the benchmarks were later trading between highs and lows, reflecting volatile trends.

From the Sensex firms, Eternal, Maruti, Power Grid, Infosys, Bharat Electronics and Bajaj Finance were among the major winners.

However, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank and Trent were among the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,944.19 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 3,661.05 crore, according to exchange data.

“Today the market focus will be on monetary policy. More important than the rate action, which is very tricky in the context of low inflation, high growth and depreciating rupee, the market will be keen to know what the governor says about the emerging macro trends. RBI’s action on the liquidity front will be keenly watched,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi and Shanghai’s SSE Composite index traded in positive territory while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index quoted lower. US markets ended on a flat note on Thursday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.17 per cent to US$ D 63.15 per barrel.

On Thursday, the Sensex edged higher by 158.51 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 85,265.32. The Nifty climbed 47.75 points or 0.18 per cent to 26,033.75.