INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee, headed by Governor Shaktikanta Das, is due to release its sixth bi-monthly
statement after conclusion of a three-day meeting
Economists, analysts and investors will monitor the policy statement and the central bank commentary closely for any signs of policy easing
of a surprise rate cut on February 7 itself cannot be ruled out.Today's statement from the central bank will mark the first under Governor
which the central bank monitors primarily to formulate its policy - stood at 2.19% in December
The MPC is expected to be cautious on the inflationary impact of the budget even as fiscal slippage seems manageable, said Kotak in a note
"The MPC might raise concern on the quality of expenditure, especially when the borrowings (government and public enterprises) have
However, the MPC decision will hinge solely on the expected benign inflation trajectory," Kotak noted.Market breadth favoured the gains,
with 959 stocks on the NSE trading higher agaisnt 604 laggards
On the BSE, 994 scrips advanced versus 585 that declined
Top advancers on the 50-scrip index at the time were Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Yes Bank and Eicher Motors, trading between 1.5
per cent and 2.5 per cent higher.The Sensex jumped as much as 170 to touch 37,145 in early trade while the Nifty peeked above the 11,100
At 9:43 am, the Sensex traded 127 - or about 0.4 per cent - higher at 37,103 and the Nifty was at 11,092, up 30 points from the previous
However, the brokerage also acknowledged the possibility of the MPC deciding to tread cautiously and pushing a rate cut to the April policy
"The RBI's commentary on core inflation and interim budget should be closely watched," it noted.Brokerage Edelweiss said in a note on
Wednesday that it expects a softer stance from the MPC "with a good chance of a rate cut as well with soft headline inflation, slowing
