FIRST TRADE: Sensex, Nifty trade in red ahead of RBI policy decision; Max Financial Services up 10%

Stock market today: The headline indices opened in negative territory on Thursday, as market participants were in a wait-and-watch mode ahead of the RBI monetary policy decision, which will be out at 10 a.m. today. At the time of writing this news, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 65,818.39, down 177 points, or 0.27 per cent and the NSE's Nifty was trading at 19,580.95, down 51.60 points, or 0.26 per cent. 

"Volatility is likely to be the hallmark of the day, as investors look forward to the RBI's credit policy outcome on interest rates and its forward-looking comments on the economy and inflation. The outlook will give investors some sense of where inflation and the economy could be heading in the near to medium term. Also, markets will watch the US inflation data trickle in the evening today, which could determine the Federal Reserve’s September interest-rate decision and the path forward from there. Technically, Nifty may move up and down in a tight channel with the biggest intraday hurdles at the 19,757 mark. In comparison, intraday support is seen only at the 19411 mark," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

Among Sensex stocks, Asian Paints was the index's biggest loser (down over 1 per cent). Next on the losers' list were HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, and Tata Motors. On the other hand, UltraTech Cement (up over 0.5 per cent) was the top gainer.