Mumbai, Apr 8 (PTI) Equity benchmarks posted smart gains on Friday after three days of losses as the RBI kept the policy rate unchanged at a record low and maintained its accommodative stance but flagged inflationary pressures amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
The BSE Sensex climbed 412.23 points or 0.70 per cent to settle at 59,447.18. Similarly, the NSE Nifty gained 144.80 points or 0.82 per cent to finish at 17,784.35.
ITC was the top performer in the Sensex pack, spurting 4.36 per cent, followed by M&M, Dr Reddy’s, Titan, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints and Tata Steel.
In contrast, Tech Mahindra, Maruti, NTPC, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma, HDFC twins and Bharti Airtel were the laggards, slipping as much as 1.31 per cent.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday kept borrowing costs unchanged at a record low for the 11th time in a row in a bid to continue supporting economic growth despite inflation edging higher in the aftermath of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
RBI’s six-member Monetary Policy Committee voted to hold the benchmark repurchase or the repo rate at 4 per cent, Governor Shaktikanta Das said.
The panel decided to stick to an accommodative stance “while focussing on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation remains within the target going forward while supporting growth”.
The RBI raised the retail inflation projection for the current financial year to 5.7 per cent from earlier forecast of 4.5 per cent, though it expects moderation in prices of cereals and pulses on a likely record harvest of winter season (rabi) crop.
“Market was cautious during the last 2-3 days ahead the RBI meet and its future policy stance. Measures being in-line with market expectations led to a relief rally. The focus has shifted to the Q4 earnings season, which will start next week, initiated by the IT and Banking sector,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
On a weekly basis, the Sensex slipped 170.49 points or 0.28 per cent, while the Nifty shed 113.90 points or 0.64 per cent.
Siddarth Bhamre, Research Head, Religare Broking Ltd, said, “For us the most important take away from the policy is that RBI has kept its ammunition intact and is well prepared to safeguard the Indian economy from any external shocks.” In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge jumped 0.99 per cent and the midcap gained 0.93 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, power gained the most at 1.99 per cent, followed by FMCG (1.93 per cent), basic materials (1.91 per cent), utilities (1.81 per cent) and oil and gas (1.76 per cent).
Interest-rate sensitive bank, auto and realty indices settled higher by 0.56 per cent, 0.64 per cent and 0.15 per cent, respectively.
A total of 2,293 stocks advanced, while 1,092 declined and 124 remained unchanged.
Global markets traded in the positive zone despite concerns over the Ukraine crisis and policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo ended in the green. European stocks were also trading higher in early deals.
Stocks in the US also rose in the overnight session.
International oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.65 per cent to USD 101.2 per barrel.
The rupee appreciated 10 paise to settle at 75.93 against the US dollar.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth a net Rs 5,009.62 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data. PTI SUM ABM ABM
