Domestic equity benchmarks opened on a cautious note Thursday ahead of the outcome of Reserve Bank of India's first bi-monthly monetary policy review for fiscal 2019-20.

The BSE gauge Sensex was trading a tad above the psychological 39,000-level in early deals, up 24.13 points or 0.06 per cent at 38,901.25. The 30-share index had settled 179.53 points, or 0.46 per cent lower, at 38,877.12 in the previous session.

Similarly, the NSE benchmark Nifty was trading 15.70 points, or 0.13 per cent, higher at 11,659.65 in early session.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack include Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, PowerGrid, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finance, HUL, Maruti and Bajaj Auto, rising up to 2.33 per cent.

On the other hand, HCL Tech, Yes Bank, Tata Steel, ONGC, Infosys, Vedanta and ITC were among the top losers, shedding up to 2.82 per cent.

Investors were cautious ahead of RBI's bi-monthly monetary policy review, scheduled to be announced before noon on Thursday.

The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is holding a three-day meeting between April 2-4 for the first policy statement for financial year 2019-20.

According to experts, RBI is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points and adopt a pro-growth stance. However, expectation of poor rainfall and already slow economic growth alongside subdued inflation may pressurise RBI to go for a higher rate cut.

Market sentiment was also subdued after foreign investors turned net sellers in the previous trading session, traders said.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pulled out Rs 1,040.48 crore Wednesday, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities to the tune of Rs 80.83 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed.

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 20 paise to trade at 68.61 to the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.06 per cent to trade at USD 69.27 per barrel.

Elsewhere in Asia, benchmark equity indices in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul were trading positive.&nbsp;

Domestic equity benchmarks opened on a cautious note Thursday ahead of the outcome of Reserve Bank of India's first bi-monthly monetary policy review for fiscal 2019-20.

Domestic equity benchmarks opened on a cautious note Thursday ahead of the outcome of Reserve Bank of India's first bi-monthly monetary policy review for fiscal 2019-20. The BSE gauge Sensex was trading a tad above the psychological 39,000-level in early deals, up 24.13 points or 0.06 per cent at 38,901.25. The 30-share index had settled 179.53 points, or 0.46 per cent lower, at 38,877.12 in the previous session. Similarly, the NSE benchmark Nifty was trading 15.70 points, or 0.13 per cent, higher at 11,659.65 in early session. Top gainers in the Sensex pack include Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, PowerGrid, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finance, HUL, Maruti and Bajaj Auto, rising up to 2.33 per cent. On the other hand, HCL Tech, Yes Bank, Tata Steel, ONGC, Infosys, Vedanta and ITC were among the top losers, shedding up to 2.82 per cent. Investors were cautious ahead of RBI's bi-monthly monetary policy review, scheduled to be announced before noon on Thursday. The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is holding a three-day meeting between April 2-4 for the first policy statement for financial year 2019-20. According to experts, RBI is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points and adopt a pro-growth stance. However, expectation of poor rainfall and already slow economic growth alongside subdued inflation may pressurise RBI to go for a higher rate cut. Market sentiment was also subdued after foreign investors turned net sellers in the previous trading session, traders said. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pulled out Rs 1,040.48 crore Wednesday, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities to the tune of Rs 80.83 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed. Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 20 paise to trade at 68.61 to the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.06 per cent to trade at USD 69.27 per barrel. Elsewhere in Asia, benchmark equity indices in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul were trading positive.

Sensex, Nifty start on a cautious note ahead of RBI policy outcome

The rupee recovered 6 paise to 73.52 against the US dollar at the forex market Friday ahead of the RBI's monetary policy outcome amid fresh selling by exporters as the government stepped in to reduce oil prices, reported news agency PTI.

Dealers said besides fresh selling of the US dollar by exporters, the greenback's weakness against some currencies overseas supported the rupee, the report added.

The domestic currency closed at a record low of 73.58, down by 24 paise or 0.33 per cent on Thursday, marking its third straight session of losses.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex dropped by 231.16 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 34,938 in opening trade.

The rupee recovered 6 paise to 73.52 against the US dollar at the forex market Friday ahead of the RBI's monetary policy outcome amid fresh selling by exporters as the government stepped in to reduce oil prices, reported news agency PTI.

The rupee recovered 6 paise to 73.52 against the US dollar at the forex market Friday ahead of the RBI's monetary policy outcome amid fresh selling by exporters as the government stepped in to reduce oil prices, reported news agency PTI. Dealers said besides fresh selling of the US dollar by exporters, the greenback's weakness against some currencies overseas supported the rupee, the report added. The domestic currency closed at a record low of 73.58, down by 24 paise or 0.33 per cent on Thursday, marking its third straight session of losses. Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex dropped by 231.16 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 34,938 in opening trade.

Rupee recovers 6 paise against US dollar ahead of RBI policy outcome

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to keep interest rates on hold on Thursday for the fourth meeting in a row but maintain a cautious tone despite a sharper-than-expected pullback in inflation in the last few months.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is likely to stick with its 'neutral' stance and flag uncertainty over the inflation outlook beyond June due to factors such as oil prices and the government's promise of increasing the minimum purchase price of foodgrains from farmers.

A Reuters poll showed all 61 respondents expected the RBI to keep the repo rate steady at 6 percent, its lowest level since November 2010. A majority of the economists polled expect the RBI to only start raising rates in early 2019.

"We expect the policy guidance and tone to be balanced and similar to that in February," said A. Prasanna, chief economist at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership, referring to the RBI's projection that inflation will moderate from October onward but with upside risks.

"Accordingly, the MPC will again vote for status quo with a preference to wait for more clarity on key risks."

Inflation unexpectedly fell after vegetable prices fell in early 2018 due to a surge in harvests. This is expected to keep price pressures soft for the next few months.

However, oil prices remain a risk, since India imports nearly 80 percent of its crude oil requirement.

It is noteworthy that February's consumer price index (CPI) inflation fell to a four-month low of 4.44 percent, and is also expected to stay behind the RBI's projection of 5.1-5.6 percent for April-September, the RBI is unlikely to lower its guard as it aims to lower inflation to 4 percent in the medium term.

The RBI will also be mindful of the pace of India's economic recovery as banks are likely to go slow on lending after a loan-fraud scandal worth over $2 billion at the country's second largest state lender Punjab National Bank.

That could slow down activity after India grew the fastest in five quarters at 7.2 percent.

"There can be some dent in the risk appetite among banks to give loans after the issues related to loan fraud were detected, which could add uncertainties to the pace of the near term recovery," said Siddhartha Sanyal, chief India economist at Barclays in Mumbai.

"We expect that policymakers will be careful of not stifling growth at the early stages of recovery," adding that he expected the RBI to be on hold for all of 2018.

RBI is likely to keep interest rates on hold on Thursday for the fourth meeting in a row but maintain a cautious tone despite a pullback in inflation.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to keep interest rates on hold on Thursday for the fourth meeting in a row but maintain a cautious tone despite a sharper-than-expected pullback in inflation in the last few months. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is likely to stick with its 'neutral' stance and flag uncertainty over the inflation outlook beyond June due to factors such as oil prices and the government's promise of increasing the minimum purchase price of foodgrains from farmers. A Reuters poll showed all 61 respondents expected the RBI to keep the repo rate steady at 6 percent, its lowest level since November 2010. A majority of the economists polled expect the RBI to only start raising rates in early 2019. "We expect the policy guidance and tone to be balanced and similar to that in February," said A. Prasanna, chief economist at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership, referring to the RBI's projection that inflation will moderate from October onward but with upside risks. "Accordingly, the MPC will again vote for status quo with a preference to wait for more clarity on key risks." Inflation unexpectedly fell after vegetable prices fell in early 2018 due to a surge in harvests. This is expected to keep price pressures soft for the next few months. However, oil prices remain a risk, since India imports nearly 80 percent of its crude oil requirement. It is noteworthy that February's consumer price index (CPI) inflation fell to a four-month low of 4.44 percent, and is also expected to stay behind the RBI's projection of 5.1-5.6 percent for April-September, the RBI is unlikely to lower its guard as it aims to lower inflation to 4 percent in the medium term. The RBI will also be mindful of the pace of India's economic recovery as banks are likely to go slow on lending after a loan-fraud scandal worth over $2 billion at the country's second largest state lender Punjab National Bank. That could slow down activity after India grew the fastest in five quarters at 7.2 percent. "There can be some dent in the risk appetite among banks to give loans after the issues related to loan fraud were detected, which could add uncertainties to the pace of the near term recovery," said Siddhartha Sanyal, chief India economist at Barclays in Mumbai. "We expect that policymakers will be careful of not stifling growth at the early stages of recovery," adding that he expected the RBI to be on hold for all of 2018.

RBI to keep rates on hold, sounds cautious despite easing inflation