Sensex, Nifty Close At All-Time Highs As RBI Raises GDP Growth Projections

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rose over 2 percent to close at record highs on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased the GDP growth projection to 7.2 percent for 2024-25 from 7 percent earlier.

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 1618.85, or 2.15 percent to 76,693.36. During the day it rose 1,720.8 points to a new high of 76,795.31. The NSE Nifty advanced 468.75 points, or 2.05 percent to 23,290.15.

Following Tuesday’s dramatic tumble, the Sensex has risen 2,995.46 points, or 4.15 percent, over the last two days.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors-DVR, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, and Bajaj Finance were the top gainers.

Among the laggards were SBI Life Insurance, Tata Consumer, Jindal Steel & Power, Bosch, and Adani Green Energy.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided on Friday to leave the policy rate steady for the eighth time in a row, saying it will keep a close eye on inflation.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced the second bi-monthly monetary policy for the current fiscal year, saying the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to hold the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 percent.

The Reserve Bank raised its GDP growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.2 percent from 7 percent, citing increased private consumption and a resurgence of demand in rural areas.

In Asian markets, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Shanghai, and Thailand closed in positive territory, while Tokyo, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Taiwan ended in negative territory.

European stocks were trading lower.

US markets closed on a mixed note on Thursday.

Brent crude gained 0.04 percent to USD 79.95 per barrel.

According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 6,867.72 crore on Thursday.

On Thursday, the Sensex climbed 692.27 points or 0.93 percent to 75,074.51, while the Nifty jumped 201.05 points or 0.89 percent to 22,821.40.

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