Stock markets end mostly flat, Sensex climbs 266 points

MUMBAI: Domestic equity benchmark indices ended mostly flat on Friday, but with a slight increase after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy committee announced its decision to take a pause over repo rate. Buying enthusiasm picked up later in the session as the Sensex climbed 266.47 points to settle at 83,580.40 while Nifty 50 advanced 50.90 points to close 25,693.70.

Among the sectors, PSU Bank, IT, pharma dipped while FMCG oil and gas, consumer durables, private banks, and realty rose. Domestic equity benchmarks opened on a cautious note and then slipped into the red.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited said, “Domestic equity markets traded largely subdued through most of the session before staging a late recovery, supported by selective buying in FMCG and private banking stocks. In contrast, the domestic IT sector continued to underperform. The RBI’s policy announcement was broadly in line with expectations, maintaining status quo on interest rates while reiterating a constructive growth outlook.”

“However, markets had anticipated a mildly dovish undertone, which failed to materialise as the RBI retained its neutral stance, resulting in an uptick in India’s 10-year bond yields. On the global front, investor focus remains on US-Iran negotiations with potential implications on crude oil prices, alongside ongoing developments in AI and technology that continue to drive global sectoral rotations,” Nair said.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities on Nifty said “The index has been consolidating over the last few sessions. On the lower end, support is placed at 25,500, while on the higher end, resistance is seen around 25,700. In the short term, the index is likely to remain range-bound between 25,500 and 25,700. A decisive breakout on either side of this range could trigger a directional move.”

Earlier in the day, the RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has unanimously decided to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent, while continuing with a neutral policy stance.

With the repo rate unchanged, the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate remains at 5 per cent, while the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate continue at 5.5 per cent. (ANI)