Nifty tops 8,700 mark on buying frenzy; eye on RBI policy

The benchmark NSE Nifty cracked the 8,700-mark for the first time in 16 months on continued optimism over economic reforms and solid foreign fund buying even as the market brace up for RBI policy meet outcome.
A buying frenzy that sent the Nifty rallying over 28 points to end at 8,711.35, extending a rally into third day.
Highly buoyant overseas sentiment also provided some comfort for domestic investors as financial markets across the globe rallied driven by strong US jobs data, which bolstered expectations of an acceleration in world's biggest economy and raising the probability of an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve this year.

A rebound in crude prices on the back of renewed talks of output freeze also supported the upmove.
The US markets ended at all-time highs on Friday.
Though, trading got off to a good start buoyed by positive global cues, the rally lacked momentum due to profit taking at higher levels and also cautious stance adopted by the investors ahead of RBI's monetary policy meet tomorrow.

The Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan in his last monetary policy tomorrow may keep interest rate static as retail inflation continues to be above the comfort zone.
The outcome of the RBI's rate-setting meeting and a slew of earnings with many big companies set to report quarterly numbers alongwith strong FII buying, which can create even more strength in a market rally, a floor trader said.

The 50-share Nifty opened higher at 8,712.85 and fluctuated between a high of 8,723.50 and a low of 8,697.60 before ending at 8,711.35, showing a rise of 28.20 points, or 0.32 per cent.
On the NSE-sectoral front, Energy outperformed its peers, surging 1.17 per cent. This was followed by Auto (0.60 per cent), Metal (0.56 per cent), IT (0.54 per cent), FMCG (0.22 per cent), Pharma (0.12 per cent) Nifty Bank (0.07 per cent). The Smallcap and Midcap indices also gained 0.64 and 0.61 per cent, respectively.
Biggest index movers included HDFC, Reliance, Infosys, Adani Ports, Bosch, BPCL, Hindalco, Maruti, Axis Bank, Eicher Motors, M&M, TechM, Power Grid, Lupin, Indusind bank and Zee.

The key laggards were ITC, Bharti Airtel, IDEA, Bharti Infratel, Sun Pharma, L&T, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and NTPC.
Turnover in cash segment rose modestly to Rs 20,676.69 crore from Rs 20,650.86 crore last Friday.
A total of 9,948.71 lakh shares changed hands in 80,91,729 trades. The market capitalisation of NSE stood at Rs 107,81,109 crore.