Markets come off 52-week highs on RBI neutral stance

Realty shares firm, Capital Goods, Banks, Auto witness profit taking at higher levels

Markets came off their 52-week highs after profit taking in rate sensitive shares following RBI's neutral stance on key policy rates. However, the central bank announced reduction in  cash reserve ratio by 25 basis points would infuse liquidity in the banking system.

The 30-share Sensex was up 87 points at 18,552 after touching a 52-week high of 18,715 and the 50-share Nifty was up 28 points at 5,606 after hitting a 52-week high of 5,652.     
Asian markets were mixed with the Hang Seng and Straits Times trading with marginal gains while the Shanghai Composite was down over 1%.

Among the sectoral indices on the BSE, Realty Index was up over 4.2% while Capital Goods, Bankex and Auto indices were up 1-2.7% each after surging in early trades ahead of the RBI policy announcement.

In the banking sector, ICICI Bank was up 4% while SBI was up 2.5%. However, mortgage lender HDFC pared most of the early gains and was marginally up by 0.38% while HDFC Bank was down 0.8% on profit taking at higher levels.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries which hit a high of Rs 881 in early trades trimmed some of the gains and was up 2.2% at Rs 860.

Capital goods major L&T also came off it intra-day high of Rs 1,587 and was up 3.5% at Rs 1,539 while BHEL was up 2.5%.

In the auto segment, Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki were up over 3% each while Mah & Mah was up 1.4%.

Meanwhile, shares of retailers, airlines continue to trade with solid gains after the cabinet late Friday approved the foreign direct investment (FDI) in these sectors.

Among retailers, Pantaloon Retail was up 18% while Shoppers Stop gained 9%. Aviation shares also ruled firm with Kingfisher Airlines up 20% and SpiceJet up 11.6%.

Profit taking was seen in the broader markets too. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices were up 0.6-0.8% each.

The overall breadth was positive as 1,432 stocks are advancing while 1,039 are declining.