Market Live: Sensex, Nifty rises for fourth day
Most Asian markets were up todayMSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe reached a two-month high
After struggling in noon trade with some selling pressure seen in FMCG, IT and metal stocks, Sensex ended 34.07 points higher at 36,616.81 while Nifty rose 22.10 points to 10,934.35. Asian stocks extended their gains on Tuesday as overnight strength on Wall Street and the Federal Reserve's dovish turn underpinned risk appetite, while the dollar held firm on last week's upbeat US data. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.4% and hovered near its four-month high marked on Friday. Japan's Nikkei average was flat on the day but at its highest level in seven weeks.
12:45 pm: PNB reports profit in December quarter, shares higher
State-owned lender Punjab National Bank reported a surprise December quarter profit of ₹246.51 crore, up 7.13% from ₹230.11 crore a year ago. Analyst polled by Bloomberg had estimated the bank to report a loss of ₹991.40 crore. Shares were up nearly 1% in ₹73.80 in afternoon trade.
11:35 am: Axis Bank shares hit 52-week high
Axis Bank shares kept up the momentum with shares rising over 1% to a fresh 52-week high of ₹728 on BSE.
11:15 am: Services sector growth slows in January - Survey
Growth in India's dominant services sector weakened for a second month in January but firms accelerated hiring despite waning demand, a private survey showed on Tuesday.
10:30 am: RBI may switch to "neutral" stance
The Reserve Bank of India is likely to change its monetary policy stance to "neutral" from "calibrated tightening" on Thursday and move closer to a rate cut in April as inflation stays below the central bank's 4% target, according to a Reuters survey of economists.
9:45 am: Rupee opens marginally higher
Indian rupee on Tuesday was trading marginally higher against US dollar in the opening trade. At 9.15am, the rupee was trading at 71.75 a dollar, up 0.08% from its previous close of 71.81. The home currency opened at 71.70 a dollar.
Traders are cautious ahead of the key Reserve Bank of India meeting on Thursday. A majority of bank treasury heads surveyed by Mint expects RBI to announce a status-quo policy, while changing the policy stance from calibrated tightening to neutral. However, some bankers are not ruling out a 25 basis points (bps) cut before the upcoming general election. Falling inflation, along with an expansionary budget, could push the RBI to maintain the policy rates unchanged, said a section of bankers.
9:17 am: Bharti Airtel shares fall
Bharti Airtel Ltd fell 4.3% to ₹293.50 after Moody’s Investor Service downgraded Bharti Airtel Ltd to junk, on concern that cash-flow generation at India’s second largest telecom operator will remain weak for several quarters to come.
9.20 am: Vedanta falls 1.8%
Vedanta Ltd fell 1.8% to ₹160 after the rating outlook of Vedanta Resources Limited, the holding company of India’s Vedanta Limited, has been changed to negative from stable by Moody’s Rating Agency, following the London-based company’s decision to invest $561 million in Volcan Investments, a family trust of Anil Agarwal, amid movements in commodity prices that are exposed to further downside risk.
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