Sensex slips 220 pts, Nifty falls 0.29% to trade at 19,575 ahead of RBI policy

Domestic key indices opened lower on Thursday ahead of RBI monetary policy due today at 10 am. BSE benchmark Sensex opened 80.97 points, or 0.12 per cent lower at 65,914.84, while broader NSE Nifty50 slipped 19.55 points, or 0.1 per cent to open around 19,613.

By 9.30 am, Sensex was trading 219.78 points, or 0.33 per cent lower at 65,776.03, while Nifty50 was down 57 points, or 0.29 per cent to trade at 19,575.55.

The Reserve Bank of India will announce its bimonthly monetary policy at 10 am today, amidst higher inflation in India, and soaring vegetable prices.

On contrary, broader markets indices opened in green, as Nifty Midcap 50 gained 0.41 per cent, Nifty Microcap 250 climbed 0.49 per cent, Nifty Smallcap 250 jumped 0.29 per cent, Nifty Midsmallcap 400 rose 0.25 per cent, and Nifty Smallcap 100 climbed 0.26 per cent.

Sectorally, Nifty Media gained 1.04 per cent, Nifty Metal rose 0.21 per cent and oil & gas sector climbed 0.12 per cent. Nifty IT plunged 0.23 per cent, FMCG slipped 0.19 per cent, PSU Bank index fell 0.15 per cent, and private bank slipped 0.14 per cent.

Private bank stocks, such as HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, were the top stocks dragging the Sensex today. However, on the Nifty index, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, TCS, ITC, Tata Consumer, Nestle India, Britannia, Eicher Motors, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Kotak Bank, and Tata Motors were the top losers today.

On the other hand, stocks that were performing well in the opening session were Adani Enterprises, ONGC, BPCL, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, NTPC, Bajaj Auto, Coal India, Hindalco, Sun Pharma, and Power Grid, JSW Steel and HDFC Life were the top gainers.