FX.co ★ Sensex Flat in Cautious Trade, Poised for Monthly Rise

The BSE Sensex remained relatively unchanged in morning trading on Tuesday, hovering around 80,356 points. This comes after seven consecutive sessions of decline. Gains in technology, pharmaceuticals, banking, and metals sectors balanced out the losses seen in media, consumer goods, and automotive industries. Traders exhibited caution due to the looming possibility of a U.S. government shutdown, a development that could affect the employment report set for release on Friday and cloud the Federal Reserve's rate-cut decisions. Further apprehension stemmed from the uncertain outcomes of US-India trade negotiations and mixed signals from China's Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data. Investor attention is now shifting towards the Reserve Bank of India's upcoming monetary policy announcement, with many in the market anticipating that interest rates will remain unchanged. Notable stock movements included a 1.8% increase in JSW Steel shares and a 0.9% rise in UltraTech Cement, while shares of Larsen & Toubro and ITC dropped by 0.9%. Despite recent market fluctuations, the index is poised for a 0.7% gain for the month, potentially marking its first monthly increase in three months, fueled by optimism regarding GST reforms.