The Indian stock market opened higher on Monday as heavyweight stocks saw early buying ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) three-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which is set to decide on the key repo rate.
At 9:22 am, the BSE Sensex was up 108 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 80,534, while the NSE Nifty rose 30 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 24,685. Midcap and smallcap stocks also witnessed gains, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index up 302 points, or 0.54 per cent, at 56,680, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index up 90 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 17,651.
Among sectoral indices, auto, IT, PSU banks, pharma, metal, realty, and energy were major gainers, while FMCG and private banks recorded losses.
In the Sensex pack, stocks such as BEL, Eternal, Titan, Tata Steel, Trent, M&M, Tata Motors, Infosys, Sun Pharma, TCS, SBI, and Power Grid led the gains. On the other hand, HUL, Axis Bank, L&T, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel, ITC, and HCL Tech were among the losers.
Analysts expect the RBI to maintain the policy rate at 5.50 per cent during the MPC meeting, with the monetary policy announcement scheduled for October 1. They noted that the current growth-inflation dynamics do not warrant a rate cut, and the RBI is likely to hold rates while sending a dovish message to support economic growth.
Investors are advised to gradually accumulate large-cap stocks in sectors such as automobiles, banking, telecom, capital goods, and cement. Weakness in the pharmaceutical segment may present buying opportunities, as India’s generic exports are expected to remain largely unaffected by global tariff pressures.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling streak for the fifth consecutive session on September 26, offloading equities worth Rs 5,687 crore. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) absorbed the selling pressure by purchasing equities worth Rs 5,843 crore on the same day.
–IANS