Sensex regains 25k mark, up 131 pts in early trade

The market ended on a flattish note with negative bias ahead of the RBI monetary policy review on Tuesday.

But among the stocks that fell, Maruti Suzuki (MRTI.NS) slipped 2.9 percent as it reported a fall in January sales, while India’s top two lenders State Bank of India (SBI.NS) and ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS) both lost more than 3 percent ahead of the RBI review.

Mumbai;Market benchmark BSE Sensex today reclaimed the 25,000-level by surging over 131 points in early trade, extending weekend’s gains on fresh foreign capital inflows amid a mixed trend at other Asian bourses.

The Reserve Bank of India is unlikely to take any interest rate action at the monetary policy meeting tomorrow. The gauge had gained 401.12 points in the previous session on positive global cues after Bank of Japan adopted a negative interest rate policy.

The 50-share Nifty resumed higher at 7,589.50 and hovered in a range of 7,600.45 and 7,541.25 before closing at 7,555.95 a marginal loss of 07.60 points or 0.14 per cent from its last Friday’s close.

Meanwhile, manufacturing sector returned to growth in January, expanding at a four-month high pace on rise in new business orders, a monthly survey showed today, adding to the expectations of RBI keeping rates unchanged.

Shares of ICICI Bank plunged 5.63 per cent to Rs 217.15, the most among the 30 bluechips of the Sensex.

In overseas markets, European stocks edged lower on disappointing Chinese manufacturing data.

However, Adaniports rose by 4.17 per cent, followed by Yes Bank 3.43 per cent, Coal India 2.69 per cent, Acc 2.56 per cent, Cipla 2.45 per cent and Idea 2.04 per cent.

The broader markets, however, outperformed with the mid-cap index and small-cap rising up to 0.57 per cent.