Stock market trades flat ahead of key RBI MPC rate cut decision

Mumbai: The NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex were trading almost flat early on Friday ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting to announce its decision on India’s benchmark repo rate.

At 9.35 a.m., the Sensex was trading at 78,033.41, down 18 points or .024 per cent, while the Nifty was trading at 23,598.25, down −5.10 points or 0.022 per cent.

At pre-open, the NSE Nifty 50 was trading 46.15 points or 0.20 per cent higher at 23,649.50, and the BSE Sensex was trading 0.08 per cent higher at 78,119.60.

Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Britannia Industries and UltraTech Cement added to the Nifty 50 index.

According to analysts, the market remains largely optimistic from the start, as indicated by the GIFT Nifty as well, underscoring a positive start for the benchmarks.

“We believe the market has already priced in the effect of a 25 bps rate cut in the past positive sessions during the week, thus any other deviation from expectations and commentary of the governor would serve as key parameters to gauge the market momentum,” said Ameya Ranadive, senior technical analyst, StoxBox.

In his first monetary policy review, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra is widely expected to reduce rates to spur economic growth. As a monetary policy tool, the RBI adjusts the repo rate to influence liquidity in the economy.

Traders seem to have opted for a cautious approach, preferring to book some long positions around this key level ahead of the RBI policy decision and the Delhi state election results, both of which could induce volatility.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,549.95 crore on February 6, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,721.66 crore.