The markets continued to trade on a soft note ahead of the mid-term policy review amid weak global cues.

After opening in the red the markets continued to trade in the negative territory the Sensex slipped 70 points to 18,287 and the Nifty had shed 20 points to 5491.

In other Asian markets, Nikkei225 lost 201 points or 2.2% to 8891, Hang Seng slipped 1.8% 0r 406 points to 22,294, Seoul Composite had shed 0.6% to 1945 and the Shanghai Composite was at 2915 lower by 0.5%.

Back home, the Reserve Bank of India is expected to review its mid-term policy. Economists expect a 25 basis points hike in the repo and reverse repo rates.

Maruti Suzuki was the top loser on the Sensex the stock was trading lower by 2.6% to Rs 1191, followed by HDFC, TCS, Infosys, Hindalco, Jindal Steel and Tata Motors. On the other hand Reliance Communications, HDFC Bank, BHEL, Cipla, SBI and ONGC were among notable gainers.

Most of the sectoral indices were trading in the red barring a few, BSE IT index was the top sectoral loser the index slipped 89 points to 6085. followed by FMCG and Metal indices, lower by around 0.7% each. Healthcare, oil & gas, power, PSU and capital goods stocks also witnessed some mild selling pressure. Meanwhile Consumer Durables index added 0.4% to 5882.

BSE banking index- Bankex was trading on a flat note ahead of the policy review, the index was marginally higher by 27 points 12,466.
Other rate sensitives like auto and realty indices were trading lower by 0.7 and 0.2% respectively.

Infosys was the top loser among the IT stocks, the stock was trading lower by 1.8% to Rs 2797 followed by TCS, HCL Technologies, Core Projects, Patni Computers and Wipro.

The broader markets were trading on a flat note, the BSE mid-cap index added 19 points to 6575 and the small-cap index jumped 17 points to 7907.

The overall market breadth was neutral as 1097 stocks advanced while 1017 stocks declined.

source: Business Standard

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