Indian stocks traded largely steady this morning ahead of the Monetary Policy statement of the Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das scheduled at 10 a.m., where he will announce the outcomes of the latest monetary policy review meeting.
At 9.26 IST, Sensex traded at 58,467.96 points, up 169.16 points or 0.29 per cent, whereas Nifty traded at 17,435.20 points, up 53.20 points or 0.31 per cent.
The three-day monetary policy committee meeting commenced on Wednesday and it is highly likely the six-member panel will go for another interest rate hike to curb rising domestic inflation. If RBI hikes by a minimum of 25 basis points, then repo rates will reach pre-pandemic levels at 5.15 per cent.
In line with the global trend of monetary policy tightening to cool off inflation, the RBI has so far hiked the key repo rates -- the rate at which the central bank of a country lends money to commercial banks -- by 90 basis points to 4.90 per cent.
If the RBI chooses to hike the policy repo rate on Friday, it will be the third hike in a row. The repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country lends money to commercial banks.
"RBI rate action today is unlikely to impact markets. The most likely scenario of a 30 to 35 basis points rate hike is already known and discounted by the market. The market will be looking forward to the RBI's commentary on inflation, GDP growth for FY23 and other macros like CAD," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Also, the momentum in the domestic market is now influenced by global cues and strong buying by foreign investors, said Vijayakumar.
( With inputs from ANI )
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