Indian shares unchanged ahead of bank rate decision

Indian shares were almost flat on Friday, ahead of a central bank decision that could leave interest rates at record lows to support the economy's recovery from a devastating second COVID-19 wave.

At 0346 GMT, the NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) was down 0.05 per cent at 16,285 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) was unchanged at 54,452.57.

The markets will be mainly looking for clues on the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) thinking on normalising of liquidity. The central bank, to aid the economic recovery, has maintained excess rupee liquidity in the banking system, with the daily surplus currently exceeding 6 trillion rupees ($80.97 billion).

All 61 economists polled by Reuters said they see no change in the repo rate (INREPO=ECI), which has been steady at 4 per cent since May last year.

"We expect RBI to keep rates on hold and continue with its accommodative stance, as growth concerns dominate even as discussions around inflation are expected to gain prominence in 2021," Morgan Stanley analysts said in a preview note.

The blue-chip Nifty 50 and the Sensex have risen over 4 per cent each since the central bank's last meeting in June and hit record highs.

Meanwhile, India on Thursday proposed scrapping a controversial law that taxed companies retrospectively and said it will refund disputed amounts, a move that could potentially settle its multi-billion-dollar tax cases.