Mumbai, Aug 5 (IANS) Domestic equity markets opened higher on Wednesday ahead of the RBI’s policy decision as the headline index surged almost 1 per cent, while global cues were also positive.
Sensex started the trading session at 79,055.38, up over 600 points or 0.8 per cent, while Nifty opened 54 points or 0.22 per cent higher at 24,669.20.
Sector-wise, realty, auto, energy, PSU banking stocks were gainers as Nifty Realty, Nifty Auto, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Oil & Gas surged up to 2 per cent. While Nifty Metal, Nifty Cement, Nifty Chemicals also edged up.
In contrast, healthcare and pharmaceuticals shares witnessed selling pressure in early deals, with Nifty Healthcare, Nifty Pharma, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Private Bank declining up to almost 1 per cent.
Meanwhile, Apollo Hospitals, Sun Pharma, Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, SBI Life, Nestle India, ITC and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) were top losers of the Nifty index.
Analysts said that sharp dip in Brent crude to below $80 and record closing in the US markets augur well for the Indian market today.
“The focus of the market today will be the monetary policy. The central bank is almost certain to hold the rates in today’s policy since any rate hike now will impact the ongoing growth momentum in the economy,” they said.
Experts further noted the growth resilience in the economy, improving corporate earnings growth and FIIs turning buyers for the sixth day in a row are positives from the market perspective, adding that it appears that the market is poised for a breakout on the upside.
Brent crude — international oil benchmark — declined by 1.61 per cent to trade around $78 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also decreased about 2 per cent to $74.24 per barrel.
–IANS
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