Share Market Closes Red (Img: Pinterest)
Mumbai: Indian share markets ended on the lower side today as participants took a cautious stance before the Monetary Policy announcement by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Closing Auction Session (CAS) too played a role in determining the closing index values for the day.
BSE Sensex fell by 210.08 points or 0.26 percent to end at 78,428.95, while NSE Nifty 50 fell 159.40 points or 0.64 percent to end at 24,614.90. Benchmark Index broke its four-session winning run as 14 Nifty stocks closed higher compared to 35 that closed lower.
Selling was observed in most segments, with stocks from the realty, IT, and cement segments turning out to be the worst-hit. Shares of banking, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), pharmaceuticals, and healthcare segments closed lower, indicating poor sentiments among investors.
On the other hand, stocks from the metals segment stood out and turned out to be the best-performing stocks of the day.
The market players largely remained on the sidelines amid the upcoming RBI Monetary Policy Committee decision due on Wednesday. It is generally believed that the six-member committee will leave the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent for the fourth straight policy review. The policy decision will be announced by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra at 10am.
On the other hand, the Indian rupee closed more or less flat at 95.3775 vis-à-vis the US dollar, down from its previous closing level of 95.3375.
Tuesday was the second trading session under the newly launched CAS regime by the exchanges.
At 3:15 pm, the Nifty traded close to 24,463, whereas the Sensex remained close to 78,321. With the help of the new auction system, the closing numbers were boosted by around 151 points in the Nifty and 108 points in the Sensex, but did not change the direction of the market.
According to the new regime, stock trading for stocks which have been quoted in the futures and options contracts ends at 3:15 pm. After that, there will be a period of auction from 3:20 pm till 3:30 pm. The final closing prices will be fixed through an equilibrium price which will depend on the order of buys and sells and the volume weighted average price from 3 pm to 3:15 pm.
Derivative markets can operate up to 3:40 pm under the new regime.
