Business news: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty advanced in opening trade on Friday (December 8) as the Reserve Bank of India announced its monetary policy decision. Besides, buying in realty, metal and commodity stocks amid gains on Wall Street bolstered sentiments, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 120.72 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 69,642.41. The broader index Nifty climbed 46.05 points, or 0.22 per cent to 20,947.20.
JSW Steel was the biggest gainer on the Sensex chart, rising 1.11 per cent, followed by HCL Tech, Wipro, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, ITC, M&M, Bajaj Finserv and HDFC Bank.
In contrast, ICICI Bank, SBI, Kotak Bank, and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.
“The market is likely to remain in a range in the near-term. Consolidation around the present levels is likely before the next phase of the rally begins. The undercurrents in the economy indicate a robust economy capable of sustaining the current trend of earnings growth into FY25. Leading indicators like power demand, housing demand, credit growth and revival of rural demand suggest a resilient economy which can keep the market buoyant, restrained only by valuations. Fairly valued segments like banking may be accumulated on dips. Falling crude is positive for paints, tyres and aviation where demand continues to be robust,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.
Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 1,564.03 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
On Thursday, the 30-share index fell 132.04 points, or 0.19 per cent, to close at 69,521.69.
The gauge hit the lowest intraday level of 69,320.53. Broader index Nifty declined 36.55 points, or 0.17 per cent, to settle at 20,901.15.
RBI keeps repo rate unchanged
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday kept the repo rate unchanged for the fifth time in a row as the monetary policy committee maintained a status quo.
Making the announcement, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said, “…The Monetary Policy Committee decided unanimously to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5%. Consequently, the Standing Deposit Facility rate remains at 6.25% and the Marginal Standing Facility rate and the Bank Rate at 6.75%.”
The three-day bi-monthly monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting of the RBI began on Wednesday. The RBI typically conducts six bimonthly meetings in a financial year, where it deliberates interest rates, money supply, inflation outlook, and various macroeconomic indicators. For the fourth straight occasion, the monetary policy committee, through its October review meeting, unanimously decided to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent, thus maintaining the status quo. In its past four meetings, it held the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent. The repo rate is the rate of interest at which RBI lends to other banks.
(With PTI inputs)