The Indian stock market closed lower on Friday as investors continued to assess the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps). Despite the rate cut, the central bank maintained its neutral policy stance, signaling a balanced approach towards managing inflation and supporting economic growth.
The RBI MPC reduced the repo rate from 6.5% to 6.25%. Governor Sanjay Malhotra emphasized that the committee remained committed to keeping inflation in check while simultaneously fostering economic growth.
The BSE Sensex initially surged to a high of 78,357 but experienced a sharp decline, dropping nearly 900 points to a low of 77,476 during intra-day trading. The index ultimately closed at 77,860, marking a loss of 198 points. This marked the third consecutive day of losses for the Sensex, although it ended the week with a modest gain of 354 points.
The NSE Nifty also showed volatility, fluctuating between 23,694 and 23,443, before closing at 23,560, down by 43 points. Despite the decline, Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, noted that the Nifty’s volatility did not push the index below the 21-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), suggesting a positive short-term trend. He added that as long as the index stays above the 23,450 level, the trend is likely to remain positive.
Among the top gainers on the Sensex, ITC saw a notable 4.5% increase, while Bharti Airtel surged by 3.5% after reporting a five-fold increase in its Q3 profit. Other stocks that performed well included Zomato, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, and NTPC.
On the downside, ITC and SBI each slipped by over 2% after announcing their Q3 results. Other significant laggards included Reliance Industries, TCS, ICICI Bank, and Power Grid.
Sector-wise, the Nifty FMCG and PSU Bank indices both declined by around 1.5%, while the Oil & Gas index dropped nearly 1%. In contrast, the Nifty Metal index saw a positive performance, gaining over 2% during intra-day trading.
In the broader market, the MidCap index ended with slight gains, while the SmallCap index saw mild losses. India VIX, the volatility index, dropped by 4%, reflecting a moderate easing in market uncertainty.
Of the 4,057 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,433 ended in the red, while 1,478 registered gains, reflecting a mixed sentiment across the market.
-IANS
