Indian stock indices showed a slight increase during Wednesday’s opening, following positive trends in the US markets overnight and the return of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).
As of 9:28 am, the Sensex stood at 72,357.98 points, rising by 171.88 points or 0.24 percent, while the Nifty reached 21,993.15 points, up by 63.75 points or 0.29 percent. Among the Nifty 50 stocks, 34 saw gains, 15 experienced declines, and 1 remained steady at the time of this report.
Investors are closely watching the three-day RBI monetary policy meeting set to conclude on Thursday. These meetings, conducted six times annually, cover discussions on interest rates, money supply, inflation outlook, and various macroeconomic indicators.
In the previous December meeting, the RBI decided unanimously to maintain the policy repo rate at 6.5 percent for the fifth consecutive time. Analysts from SBI Research anticipate another pause on the repo rate during the February review meeting. The repo rate is the interest rate at which the RBI lends to other banks.
Despite the RBI’s efforts, retail inflation in India remains above the ideal scenario, standing at 5.69 percent in December, though within the RBI’s comfort level of 2-6 percent.
Regarding FPI inflows, after turning net buyers in January, foreign portfolio investors have resumed accumulating Indian stocks this month, having purchased equities worth Rs 3,044 crore so far. In contrast, they were net sellers in January, shedding Indian stocks after aggressively accumulating them in November and December.