Sensex up 24 pts on RBI policy stance, GDP cheer

Market benchmark Sensex today rose for the fourth straight session by gaining about 24 points to end at over a three-week high of 26,169.41 after RBI adopted an accommodative stance while leaving rates unchanged at its fifth bi-monthly policy review today.
Government data showed India's GDP growth quickened to 7.4 per cent in the July-September quarter, from 7 per cent in the previous one, which propped up sentiment.
The rupee strengthening by 23 paise to 66.44 (intra-day) against the dollar during the day also helped.
A higher closing in Asia after investors took positives from Chinese economic data that showed manufacturing contracted to the lowest in three years and a better opening in Europe influenced mood.

The BSE Sensex took off on a positive note and advanced further before settling higher by 23.74 points, or 0.09 per cent at 26,169.41, a level last seen November 6.
Higher levels could not be sustained as participants locked in gains. The gauge had gained 369.92 points in the previous three sessions.

The NSE Nifty also moved up 19.65 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 7,954.90 after shuttling between 7,972.15 and 7,934.15.
Stocks of metal companies led by Vedanta Ltd, Tata Steel and Hindalco were back in limelight and gained up to 4.66 per cent after global metal prices climbed.

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today kept the key policy rates steady, but affirmed the central bank's commitment to ease rates as and when room is available, saying inflation which guides its stance is likely to come in better than expected.
RBI left the short-term lending rate, or repo rate, unchanged at 6.75 per cent, and the cash reserve ratio static at 4 per cent. The central bank also retained the GDP projection unchanged at 7.4 per cent with a moderate downward bias.
Out of the 30-share Sensex pack, 16 ended higher.
Prominent gainers from the index included Coal India, Dr Reddy's, Hind Unilever, Wipro and NTPC.

Sector-wise, the BSE metal index gained the most by surging 3.18 per cent, followed by healthcare 1.07 per cent, FMCG 1.07 per cent and PSU 0.97 per cent.
In step with the trend, the mid-cap index rose 0.78 per cent and small-cap 0.46 per cent.
The broader NSE Nifty after recapturing the 8,200-mark
touched a high of 8,215.35 but slipped partially to settle the day 19.85 points, or 0.24 per cent, higher at 8,179.95.
The recovery in Sensex was also supported by gains in Bharti Airtel, up 3.17 per cent, while ITC surged 2.60 per cent and TCS perked up 2.20 per cent.

Coal India, Wipro, NTPC, Lupin, HIndustan Unilever, Infosys, HDFC Ltd and GAIL also finished with gains, rising up to 1.80 per cent.
However, SBI, ICICI Bank, BHEL, Tata Motors, Cipla, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, RIL, L&T, HDFC Bank, Hero MotoCorp, ONGC, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki were under pressure due to profit-booking.
Sectorwise, BSE FMCG gained the most by rising 1.60 per cent, followed by teck (1.13 per cent), IT (0.83 per cent) and realty (0.37 per cent).
Mid-cap index, however, ended 0.30 per cent lower, while small-cap index gained 0.18 per cent.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 114.52 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

Globally, equities finished lower with Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng indexes falling by 0.11 and 0.26 per cent, respectively, while Japan's Nikkei fell 1.62 per cent. European stocks too were lower in early trade.