Nifty crosses 21,000 for the First Time as RBI Maintains Key Rate; Sensex Gains 300 Points

In a survey conducted by ET involving 10 economists, there is a consensus expectation that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will keep the repo rate steady at 6.50%. This aligns with the committee’s stance of withdrawing accommodation, indicating a cautious approach to monetary policy adjustments.

Nifty crosses 21,000 for the First Time as RBI Maintains Key Rate

In a historic move, Nifty50 breached the 21,000 mark for the first time, fueled by the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to leave the repo rate unchanged at 6.50%.

Sensex Gains 300 Points

The BSE Sensex also experienced a notable surge, trading 264 points higher at 69,786, while Nifty50 reached 20,984, marking an 83-point increase around 10:12 am.

Key Highlights:

JSW Steel, HCL Tech, IndusInd Bank, and ITC showed gains among Sensex stocks, while ICICI Bank, SBI, Kotak Bank, Maruti, and TCS opened with cuts.

Zomato shares rose nearly 2% following a pre-market block deal where SoftBank sold a 1% stake in the food delivery platform at Rs 120.50 apiece.

Olectra Greentech shares opened over 3% higher after securing a 628 million rupees order for the supply of 40 electric buses.

Nifty Media and Nifty Realty surged over 1%, while Nifty FMCG, Metal, Bank, Financial, IT, Pharma, and Oil & Gas also opened higher on the sectoral front.

In the broader market, Nifty Midcap100 rose 0.46%, and Nifty Smallcap100 gained 0.23%.

Expert Views:

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, suggested, “The market is likely to remain in a range in the near-term. Fairly valued segments like banking may be accumulated on dips.”

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, indicated that “Nifty could now remain in the 20961-20711 band over the near term.”

Global Markets:

Wall Street closed higher on expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut by March 2024, while Japanese markets experienced a significant weekly drop. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index rose 0.5%, with China’s Shanghai Composite up 0.4%.

FII/DII Tracker:

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold Indian shares worth Rs 1,564 crore, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 9.66 crore on Thursday.

Crude Oil:

Oil prices rose in early trade, but concerns about weak energy demand in Asia and high U.S. crude production led to a potential 6% weekly fall.

Rupee Rises:

The Indian rupee strengthened 3 paise to $83.33 against the US dollar in early trade. The dollar index rose 0.07% to 103.6 level.