Markets fall in early trade ahead of RBI policy decision

MUMBAI: Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy review and weak trend in global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 165.16 points to 59,524.15 after a weak beginning. The broader NSE Nifty declined 45.5 points to 17,511.55.

Among the Sensex firms, HCL Technologies, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Maruti, Titan, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever and Nestle were the biggest laggards.

Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid, State Bank of India and Tata Consultancy Services were the winners.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Japan and Shanghai were quoting lower, while Hong Kong traded in the green.

The US markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday.

"Ahead of the RBI's monetary policy announcement in the next few hours time, markets are likely to start on a cautious note with a negative bias. The outcome is important as it comes at a time when central banks across the globe continue to tame red-hot inflation," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said in his pre-market opening comment.

The 30-share BSE benchmark surged 582.87 points or 0.99 per cent to settle at 59,689.31 on Wednesday. The Nifty jumped 159 points or 0.91 per cent to close at 17,557.05.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.88 per cent to USD 84.25 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought equities worth Rs 806.82 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.