The key equity indices traded in a narrow range near the day's low with limited losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered below the 18,600 mark. Metal stocks declined for the second straight day.
At 12:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 140.96 points or 0.23% to 62,485.40. The Nifty 50 index lost 53.75 points or 0.29% to 18,589.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.27% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.32%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,532 shares rose and 1,833 shares fell. A total of 147 shares were unchanged.
On the political front, various exit polls on Monday predicted a big majority for the BJP in Gujarat and a dead heat in Himachal Pradesh where most pollsters gave an edge to the ruling party over the Congress. The counting of votes in both states will take place on 8 December. Elections for the Himachal Pradesh assembly took place on 12 November, while polling in Gujarat happened in two phases on 1 and 5 December.
RBI MPC Meet Outcome:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the policy repo rate by 35 bps to 6.25% after the conclusion of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting today, 7 December 2022.
RBI governor Shaktikanta Das announced that the central bank has hiked lending rate by 35 basis points as inflation has started showing signs of easing and economic growth tapering.
Standing Deposit Facility rate and Marginal Standing Facility Rate were also increased by 35 basis points each to 6% and 6.5%.
Das said the MPC voted 4-2 to remain focused on withdrawal of accommodation so that inflation remains within the target going forward while supporting growth.
On balance, MPC was of the view that further calibrated action was warranted to keep inflation expectation anchored, break core inflation persistence and contain second round effects.
RBI expects inflation to be above 4% in the next 12 months. The GDP growth forecast for October-December 2022 is lowered to 4.4%. It is lowered to 4.2% for January-March 2023 period.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.49% to 14.1125. The Nifty 29 December 2022 futures were trading at 18,694.85, at a premium of 105.85 points as compared with the spot at 18,589.
The Nifty option chain for the 29 December 2022 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 36.3 lakh contracts at the 19,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 31.9 lakh contracts were seen at 18,000 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index fell 1.14% to 2,144.30. The index declined 2.16% in two trading sessions.
Network 18 Media & Investments (down 2.31%), PVR (down 1.63%), Saregama India (down 1.4%), Inox Leisure (down 1.33%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (down 1.27%), TV18 Broadcast (down 1.12%), Sun TV Network (down 0.98%) and Hathway Cable & Datacom (down 0.58%) declined.
On the other hand, Dish TV India (up 2.76%), Nazara Technologies (up 0.9%) edged higher.
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