Sensex trades flat after RBI leaves repo rate unchanged

Mumbai: The 30-share bellwether BSE Sensex on Tuesday was trading flat after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) opted to keep its key lending rate unchanged.

RBI retained the repo rate, at which it lends short-term funds to banks, at 8% but reduced the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) to 22.5% from 23%, effective the fortnight starting 14 June.

At 11.25am, the Sensex was trading lower by 0.02%, or 3.99 points, at 24,680.86 points, while the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE’s) broader 50-share Nifty was trading down 0.11%, or 8.4 points, at 7,354.10 points.

The gainers included Coal India Ltd that was up 3.48% at Rs.386.35, while Sesa Sterlite Ltd rose 2.97% to Rs.287.95.

Among the losers, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd shares fell 1.67% to Rs.2,373.80 apiece and ITC Ltd fell 1.51% to Rs.332.25.

The BSE metal index was the top sectoral gainer, up 1.78%. The BSE FMCG was the top sectoral loser, down 1.05%. The BSE Bankex was down 0.58%, while BSE IT and Teck were down 0.45% each.

Wockhardt Ltd was trading at Rs.599.95, down 2.33%, after CNBC reported that US FDA said Wockhardt used unapproved test methods at the US plant found evidence that some quality tests were being deleted.

Tata Steel Ltd was trading up 2.42% at Rs.500.10, while Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) was up 1.47% at Rs.93.05 after both the companies restarted iron ore mines in Odisha after getting new permits from the state government.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd was trading at Rs.271.20 on BSE, up 2.19% from its previous close, after RBI approved FIIs to invest upto 100% in the company. Earlier, the investment limit for FIIs in the company was 49%.

Suzlon Energy Ltd was trading up 5.18% to Rs.25.4 on BSE after it reported on Saturday that its Ebitda turned positive after a gap of seven quarters. Its net loss for the quarter ended 31 March narrowed to Rs.603.45 crore from Rs.1,912.72 crore in the year-ago period, helped by cost reductions and restructuring of operations. Year-to-date, the stock has risen 147.57%.

Since the beginning of this year, the BSE Sensex has gained 16.85%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $8.08 billion from local equity markets.

Asian markets are trading higher. Strong manufacturing data from China and the US are giving a fillip to investor sentiment. US manufacturing activity accelerated in May and construction spending rose for a third straight month in April, suggesting economic growth was gaining steam. China’s Shanghai Composite was trading up 0.35% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.67%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.88%.

The data helped US equities close at record highs, despite selling in technology shares. The S&P 500 up 0.07%, Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.16% and Nasdaq Composite down 0.13%.