Markets decline in early trade ahead of RBI monetary policy outcome

Mumbai:  Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Friday ahead of the RBI monetary policy outcome.

Moreover, a sluggish trend in global equity markets and fresh foreign fund outflow also drove investors to stay on the sidelines.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 159.93 points to 81,282.11 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 27.65 points to 24,723.25.

From the Sensex firms, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.

IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Eternal, Adani Ports and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the gainers.

"In today’s monetary policy the RBI is likely to cut policy rates by 25 bps. This is already factored in by the market. More important will be the RBI commentary on growth and inflation projections for FY26," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 index were trading in the positive territory while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng quoted marginally lower.

US markets ended lower on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 208.47 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

"For Indian equities, the immediate focus shifts to two key events: the RBI policy meeting and the US May jobs report," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.29 per cent to USD 65.15 a barrel.

On Thursday, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 443.79 points or 0.55 per cent to settle at 81,442.04. The Nifty rose 130.70 points or 0.53 per cent to 24,750.90.