Sensex trades marginally lower ahead of RBI policy meet

Mumbai: The 30-share bellwether BSE Sensex was trading marginally down ahead of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) bi-monthly policy due later on Tuesday.

RBI will release its monetary policy at 11am. RBI to maintain repurchase rate at 8% to shield the rupee from potential increases in US borrowing costs and sustain a fight against inflation, all 51 analysts in a Bloomberg survey predict. The government will also announce fiscal deficit data on Tuesday.

At 9.47am, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading lower by 0.15%, or 41.20 points, at 26,555.91 points, while the National Stock Exchange’s broader barometer 50-share Nifty was trading down 0.16%, or 12.35 points, at 7,946.55 points.

The gainers included, Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd (HDFC) that was trading up 1.4% to Rs.1,044.90. HSBC has added HDFC Bank to its ‘Asia Super Ten’ stocks’ portfolio and also upgraded its target. Mint could not independently confirm the report. Tata Power Co. Ltd rose 1.1% to Rs.84.65 after the company and US based Honeywell International Inc. have signed an agreement to produce a navigation system in India to cater to the needs of the south Asian nation’s military.

Among the losers, Hindalco Industries Ltd fell 1.9% to Rs.156.50 after the government has cancelled approvals of special economic zones (SEZs), according to PTI. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd fell 1.3% to Rs.2,731.50.

The BSE healthcare and consumer durables Indices were the top gainer, up 0.8% each. BSE capital goods and realty were trading up 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. BSE IT was top sectoral loser, down 0.7%. BSE metal and Teck were trading down 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively. BSE oIl and gas down 0.4%.

Strides Arcolab Ltd was trading at Rs.737.30 on BSE up 5% from previous close while Shasun Pharmaceuticals Ltd fell 1.5% to Rs.192.80. Strides Arcolab has agreed to buy rival Shasun Pharmaceuticals in an all-stock transaction valued at about Rs.1,200 crore to ensure an assured supply of drug ingredients and generate cost savings, according to Mint report. Shasun stockholders will receive five shares of Strides Arcolab for every 16 they hold, giving Shasun shareholders a 26% stake in the merged entity.Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) was trading at Rs.85.50 on BSE up 4.1% from previous close after the company said that its promoters have revoked 7.54 crore shares earlier pledged with IL&FS Trust Co. Ltd.

Sterlite Technologies Ltd rose 2.5% to Rs.68.95 after it said in a notice to NSE that the company is in pact with VISCAS Corp. . As part of pact agreement VISCAS Japan will invest in the existing power cable facility of Sterlite in Haridwar.

IDFC Ltd was trading at Rs.142.35 on BSE, up 1.2% after the private equity arm sold two of its real estate investments—a special economic zone (SEZ) in Pune and an information technology park in Noida to private equity firm Blackstone Group Lp for enterprise value of Rs.1,100 crore, providing a 22% internal rate of return.

DCB Bank Ltd rose 2.4% to Rs.85.85 after the board approved raising of funds up to Rs.275 crore via QIP.

Hexaware Technologies Ltd rose 4.6% to Rs.205 after a huge block deal executed on the counter on the exchanges.

Around 27.29 million equity shares representing 9.1% of total equity of the company have changed hands block deals, Bloomberg reported. Further details of buyers and sellers were not available.

Reliance Communications Ltd, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, Reliance Power Ltd , United Spirits Ltd , Housing Development and Infrastructure, Max India Ltd , TV18 Broadcast Ltd will held annual general meetings today.

Since the beginning of this year, the Sensex has gained 25.50%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $13.8 billion from local equity markets.

Overnight, US stocks recovered from early selling bout, but still finished lower on Monday, as investor confidence was hit by violent unrest in Hong Kong and a brief spike in the dollar, reports MarketWatch. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 advanced were down around 0.3% each.

Asian markets were trading lower on Tuesday as pro-democracy protests continued in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite was flat, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.5% as thousands of pro-democracy students stage a peaceful sit-in to blockade key parts of the city. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was down 1.5%.