Domestic equity benchmark indices on Friday ended mostly flat with marginal gains after the Reserve Bank of India announced its decision to keep the policy repo rate unchanged.
Buying interest picked up in the latter half of the session, helping markets recover from early losses. The Sensex rose 266.47 points to close at 83,580.40, while the Nifty 50 advanced 50.90 points to settle at 25,693.70.
Sector-wise, PSU banks, IT and pharma stocks ended lower, while FMCG, oil and gas, consumer durables, private banks and realty stocks posted gains.
Markets opened on a cautious note and slipped into negative territory in early trade before staging a late recovery.
Commenting on market movement, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said domestic equity markets remained subdued for most of the session before selective buying in FMCG and private banking stocks supported a rebound. He noted that the IT sector continued to underperform.
Nair said the RBI’s policy announcement was largely in line with market expectations, with the central bank maintaining status quo on interest rates while reiterating a constructive outlook on growth. However, he added that markets had anticipated a mildly dovish tone, which did not materialise as the RBI retained its neutral stance, leading to a rise in India’s 10-year bond yields.
On global cues, Nair said investor focus remains on developments related to US-Iran negotiations, which could impact crude oil prices, along with continued advancements in artificial intelligence and technology that are driving sectoral rotations globally.
On the technical front, Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said the Nifty has been consolidating over the past few sessions. He said immediate support is placed at 25,500, while resistance is seen around 25,700. In the near term, the index is expected to remain range-bound within this band, with a decisive breakout likely to trigger a directional move.
Earlier in the day, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had 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
