Indian markets rally after RBI maintains rates, changes stance to neutral
The RBI maintained status quo despite the US Federal Reserve lowering the benchmark rates by 50 basis points last month. The central banks of some developed nations have also reduced their interest rates.
Benchmark BSE Sensex jumped over 550 points to revisit the 82,000-level in morning trade on Wednesday after the Reserve Bank of India changed its monetary policy stance to stance to 'neutral', a move that may lead to a rate cut in the forthcoming policies.
The 30-share BSE Sensex soared 556.97 points, or 0.68%, to 82,191.78 in early trade. The broader Nifty of NSE rose 78.70 points, or 0.31%, to 25,091.85.
Buying in banking and IT stocks added to the positive trend in markets, traders said.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, PowerGrid and HCL Technologies were among the major gainers.
On the contrary, Nestle India, ITC, HUL, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra were among the laggards.
The RBI on Wednesday decided to keep the policy rate unchanged for the tenth time in a row.
It maintained status quo despite the US Federal Reserve lowering the benchmark rates by 50 basis points last month. The central banks of some developed nations have also reduced their interest rates.
Announcing the fourth bi-monthly monetary policy for the current financial year, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5%.
The RBI has maintained the status quo on benchmark interest rates since February 2023.
Das said RBI will remain watchful of elevated food inflation even when India's GDP growth remains strong.
"As anticipated, the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee has kept interest rates unchanged in its policy announcement today. While there were hopes for a rate cut in line with the US Fed, the RBI has taken a prudent approach by focusing on key indicators like domestic inflation and financial stability, particularly in light of the declining individual savings as a percentage of GDP, which poses a financial stability risk," said Suresh Darak, Founder of Bondbazaar.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 5,729.60 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 7,000.68 crore, according to exchange data.
In Asian markets, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a mixed note.
Global oil benchmark Brent Crude climbed 0.95% to $77.91 a barrel in futures trade. The US markets ended with gains in overnight deals on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 584.81 points or 0.72% to close at 81,634.81. The NSE Nifty jumped 217.40 points or 0.88% to finish at 25,013.15.
Edited by Swetha Kannan