Nifty closes below 16,500 ahead of RBI policy meet; Titan, UPL, Dr Reddys Laboratories emerge as top losers

ONGC, Coal India, and NTPC emerged as the top gainers while Titan Company, UPL, and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories were the top losers.  

Market update at 3.30 PM: Indices closed in the red ahead of RBI policy meet. Nifty plunged 0.92 per cent and slipped below the 16,500-mark. Sensex dropped about 567 points while Nifty Midcap & Nifty Smallcap tumbled about 0.59 per cent & 0.67 per cent respectively.  

Among the sectors, energy and auto stocks traded higher while media, IT & FMCG stocks were weak today. ONGC, Coal India, and NTPC emerged as the top gainers while Titan Company, UPL, and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories were the top losers.  

All eyes are set on RBI MPC meeting tomorrow wherein, the interest rate hike shall be announced. Also, the commentary regarding the outlook for growth and inflation shall be in focus.   

Market update at 11.25 AM: Indices witnessed severe selling pressure and Nifty has plunged over 1.20 per cent. It is at its day’s low and has breached its 16,400-level. Meanwhile, Sensex has lost nearly 690 points while Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap have lost about a per cent each,  

All sectors are in red apart from Nifty Energy. Energy stocks have seen strong buying interest amid rising crude prices. ONGC (5.07 per cent), Oil India (3.62 per cent), GAIL (2.70 per cent), Hindustan Petroleum (1.71 per cent), and Indian Oil Corporation (1.53 per cent) are some of the stocks witnessing a strong rise.  Meanwhile, realty, IT, and FMCG stocks are the top draggers.  

ONGC, Coal India & BPCL are the top gainers among Nifty stocks while Titan has shredded nearly 5 per cent, becoming the top loser.  

The advance-decline ratio stands at 602:1,275 while the overall market breadth is bearish.   

Market update at 9.25 AM: Indices have opened lower while Nifty is down by 0.85 per cent. Sensex has lost over 480 points while the mid-cap and small-cap witnessed profit booking. 

All the sectors are trading in red in the initial minutes of the session. Meanwhile, India VIX has slipped about a per cent. 

Pre-market update: Last night, the US markets closed higher. Nasdaq surged about 0.40 per cent while Dow Jones gained around modest 16 points. 

However, weakness still persists in the Asian markets and most of them have opened mixed. SGX is down by 100 points and indicates a gap-down opening for Nifty.  

India is in talks to import more Russian oil to curb inflation. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil surges above USD 120 per barrel after China eases lockdown restrictions. 

In the last trading session, the FIIs have sold to the tune of Rs 2,397 crore while the DIIs bought to the tune of Rs 1,940 crore. 

Nifty is likely to test the level of 16,400 and price action shall be keenly watched at this level.