Sensex, Nifty turn cautious on mixed global cues; investors on edge ahead of RBI board meeting today

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Friday opened on a cautious note amid negative signals from other Asian markets, and mixed macro cues like weakening rupee and easing crude prices. Breaking its three-day winning streak, the 30-share index turned choppy and was trading 25.93 points, or 0.07 percent, lower at 35,903.71. The NSE Nifty saw similar movement, shedding 5.55 points, 0.05 percent, to 10,786.00. The Sensex on Thursday climbed 150.57 points, or 0.42 percent, to end at 35,929.64, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 53.95 points, or 0.50 percent, to 10,791.55. Investors were also on edge ahead of RBI central board meeting under new Governor Shaktikanta Das, traders said. The meeting will review the progress with respect of some of the decisions taken in the last meet on November 19. Among other things, the crucial board meeting is expected to take a stock of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which is under stress due to demonetisation and implementation of the goods and services tax (GST). This scheduled meeting comes in the backdrop of surprise resignation by Urjit Patel earlier this week citing personal reasons. However, the tussle between the Finance Ministry and RBI was attributed as reason for the sudden exit of Patel, who would have completed his 3-year term in September 2019. [caption id=“attachment_4418263” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Top losers in morning trade Adani Ports, Maruti, ONGC, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India and Reliance Industries, shedding up to 1 percent. Top gainers include Bharti Airtel, Yes Bank, Infosys, Asian Paints, Wipro ICICI Bank, ITC, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank and TCS, rising up to 3 percent. The rupee, meanwhile, was trading marginally lower at 71.79 against the US dollar. On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 675.14 crore Thursday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were sellers to the tune of Rs 51.86 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed. Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.32 percent, Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.73 percent, and Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.57 percent in early trade. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose 70.11 points, or 0.29 percent, to 24,597.38 on Thursday.