Markets End on a Negative Note Ahead of Monetary Policy Review Tomorrow

The Indian markets today ended with a loss ahead of the RBI policy review due on Tuesday. Selling pressure in auto stocks also dampened investor sentiments. The Sensex touched a high of 18,194 on opening but failed to hold on to gains as auto heavyweight, Maruti Suzuki, crashed on weak numbers. The main draggers for the day are the Auto and Realty indices as they closed the day in red declining by more than three percentage points and two percentage points respectively. The Sensex closed the day in red declining 110.93 points or 0.61 percentage points to close at 18,020.05. Nifty ends the day at 5418.60 declining 30.50 points or 0.56 percentage points. Market breadth was negative with 1,090 advances against 1,824 declines on BSE. On the global front, European stocks declined as a selloff in drug makers overshadowed results of bank stress tests which showed that the majority of lenders are adequately capitalized. Asian equities gained while U.S. futures fell.