Stock market today: Nifty50 ends above 25,650; BSE Sensex up over 260 points
Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the Indian equity benchmarks, ended Friday’s session in positive territory after the Reserve Bank of India left its key policy rate unchanged, in line with market expectations, and proposed permitting banks to extend loans to Real Estate Investment Trusts with appropriate prudential norms to broaden funding avenues for the real estate sector.The BSE Sensex rose 266.47 points, or 0.32 per cent, to close at 83,580.40, recovering sharply from an intraday low of 82,925.35 as late buying lifted the index by 655.05 points toward the close. The NSE Nifty also finished higher, gaining 50.90 points, or 0.20 per cent, to settle at 25,693.70 after a volatile trading session.The central bank’s six-member Monetary Policy Committee unanimously decided to retain the repo rate at 5.25 per cent, maintaining its neutral policy stance. The decision came amid manageable inflation conditions and reduced concerns around growth following higher government expenditure outlined in the Budget and easing tariff pressures after the India-US trade agreement.Among Sensex constituents, ITC emerged as the top performer with a gain of 5.09 per cent. Other notable gainers included Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid and Bajaj Finserv. On the losing side, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Asian Paints, Eternal and HCL Tech ended lower.“To further promote financing to the real estate sector, it is proposed to allow banks to lend to REITs with certain prudential safeguards,” RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said while announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy.Asian markets showed a mixed trend, with South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ending in the red, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed higher. European markets were largely trading in positive territory, whereas US markets ended lower on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite declining 1.59 per cent, the S&P 500 falling 1.23 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipping 1.20 per cent.“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,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 2,150.51 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.“Sentiment, however, drew support from regulatory clarity after the RBI indicated that banks would be permitted to lend to REITs, enhancing long-term funding visibility for the real estate and credit ecosystem,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, advanced 1.20 per cent to USD 68.34 per barrel.In the previous session, the Sensex had declined 503.76 points, or 0.60 per cent, to close at 83,313.93, while the Nifty had fallen 133.20 points, or 0.52 per cent, to end at 25,642.80.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)
