Mumbai: Indian equity benchmarks opened on a cautious note on Friday as investors awaited the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy decision, scheduled for later in the morning.
At around 9:25 AM, the BSE Sensex was down 134 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 83,179, while the NSE Nifty50 slipped 56 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 25,586. Both indices started the session in negative territory, reflecting muted risk appetite ahead of the key policy announcement.
Buying interest was seen in select financial and utility stocks. Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Trent, Bajaj Finserv, and Power Grid traded higher, rising up to 1.29 per cent. However, losses in NTPC, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, TCS, and Maruti Suzuki India weighed on the benchmarks, with declines of up to 1.28 per cent.
Broader markets also faced pressure, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index slipping 0.20 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 falling 0.41 per cent, indicating cautious sentiment beyond large-cap stocks.
On the sectoral front, the Nifty IT index emerged as the top laggard, declining over 1 per cent. Pharma, auto, metal, and media indices also traded lower. In contrast, oil and gas, private banks, FMCG, realty, and select financial stocks posted modest gains.
Market participants remain focused on the RBI policy outcome, with Governor Sanjay Malhotra set to announce the decision at 10:00 AM. Most economists expect the Monetary Policy Committee to maintain the status quo on interest rates, with any potential rate cut likely contingent on a sharp slowdown in economic growth.