The domestic benchmark equity indices ended in the green on Wednesday, driven by buying activity in the PSU bank and realty sectors. Investors closely monitored the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting, which will announce its decision on the repo rate this Friday.
Banking Stocks Surge Amid CRR Cut Speculation
Banking stocks gained amid volatile market sessions, driven by expectations of a possible Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) cut by the central bank. The Sensex settled at 80,956.3, up by 110.58 points, or 0.14%, while the Nifty closed at 24,467.45, gaining 10.30 points, or 0.04%.
Anticipation of a CRR reduction boosted banking stocks, pushing the Bank Nifty index more than 1% higher. The PSU Banking Index outperformed its private sector counterparts as investors turned optimistic ahead of the RBI’s monetary policy announcement.
Broader Market Trends
On the broader market front, the Nifty Midcap 100 ended at 58,112.40, up by 603.40 points, or 1.05%. The Nifty SmallCap 100 also gained, closing at 19,173.55, up by 170 points, or 0.89%.
Experts noted that despite volatility from mixed sentiments in Asian markets, the domestic market remained on a positive trajectory. “The banking and financial sectors continued to perform well, but auto stocks were impacted by mixed November sales results,” they said. The upcoming speech by the FED Chair could influence market sentiment, with recent FED minutes showing confidence in easing inflation.
On the sectoral front, Nifty PSU Bank, Realty, Financial Services, IT, Media, Private Banks, and PSE ended in green. In contrast, Nifty Auto, Pharma, FMCG, Metal, Energy, and Infra ended in red.
In the Sensex pack, HDFC Bank, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, TCS, Tech Mahindra, and Bajaj Finance were the top gainers. Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Power Grid, Maruti, Reliance, and ITC were the top losers.
Market Sentiment and Outlook
On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,383 shares closed in green, while 1,582 ended in red. There was no change in 105 shares.
Rupak De of LKP Securities stated that the Nifty remained choppy throughout the day as investors exercised caution ahead of the RBI’s monetary policy decision. “A decisive move above 24,700 could continue the upward momentum, while a fall below 24,350 could weaken market sentiment,” he added.
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