Stocks take off with care, RBI policy decision looms

The Sensex made a cautious start

today as all eyes turned to RBI's policy meet outcome later in

the day.

The rupee's strength against the dollar supported the

overall mood. Asian pointers remained strong.

The 30-share index rose 44.16 points, or 0.14 per cent,

to 31,541.54. The sectoral indices in good form were oil and

gas, PSU, healthcare and FMCG, with a gain of up to 1.14 per

cent.

The gauge had rallied 337.57 points in the previous

three sessions.

The NSE Nifty too was trading higher by 25.70 points, or

0.26 per cent, at 9,885.20.

Investors were optimistic in anticipation of a rate cut

by the RBI. But most analysts feel the central bank may hold

rate despite a slowdown in growth as inflationary pressures

are building up.

A firm trend at most markets in Asia following a record

close on Wall Street had a positive impact, traders said.

Lupin, ONGC, Asian Paints, ITC Ltd and Reliance

Industries were among those that traded with gains.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.70 per cent while Japan's

Nikkei went up 0.22 per cent in their late morning trade.

Chinese markets are closed for a public holiday.

Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at yet another

record high by rising 0.37 per cent yesterday.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)