Stock Market: Sensex Falls 300 Points, Nifty Holds 18,600 Amid Weak Asian Cues. Metals Gain

Stock update: Reliance, Titan, Infosys, Nestle, TCS, ITC, Sun Pharma, M&M, Airtel were the major losers on the S&P BSE Sensex

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Monday fell in early trade on weak Asian cues, extending its previous day's decline amid profit-taking after rallying to all-time high levels last week. The RBI will come out with its next bi-monthly policy review on December 7 (Wednesday) at the end of a three-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) beginning Monday.

At 10.15 am, the BSE Sensex declined 294 points to 62,574, while the broader NSE Nifty dipped 83 points to 18,6614.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Reliance, Titan, Infosys, Nestle, TCS, ITC, Sun Pharma, M&M, Airtel were the major losers. On the flip side, only Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, SBI, and ICICI Bank were among the winners.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices rose up to 0.6 per cent.

Sectorwise, Nifty metal rose the most with over a 1 per cent gain, followed by PSB and realty indices. Remaining pockets held minor losses.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong quoted higher, while Seoul traded lower. Wall Street had ended on a mixed note on Friday.

"The market's response to the RBI's policy meeting, together with other macroeconomic data and events on the domestic and global fronts will decide the direction of the Indian equity market," said Mohit Nigam, Fund manager & Head, Hem Securities.

In the previous session on Friday, the 30-share BSE benchmark fell 416 points (0.66 per cent) to end at 62,868. The Nifty dipped 116 points (0.62 per cent) to end at 18,696.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.10 per cent higher at $86.51 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 214.76 crore on Friday, as per exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 8 paise to 81.25 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday supported by a weak dollar in the overseas market.

Forex traders said weak domestic equities weighed on the local unit and restricted the appreciation bias. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.26 against the dollar, then gained further ground to touch 81.25, registering a rise of 8 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee had settled down by 7 paise at 81.33 against the dollar.