Sensex up 144pts, Nifty nears 17,600 as RBI pauses hike; realty stocks jump

CLOSING BELL: Shaktikanta Das said the move was only "a pause and not a pivot"

Stock market highlights: Equity markets turned volatile on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent during its bi-monthly policy meeting. This was against Markets' expectations of a 25-basis point hike. The dovish decision lifted investors' spirits marginally as governor Shaktikanta Das said the move was only "a pause and not a pivot". READ MORE

Given this, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex swung 430 points during the day, before ending 144 points, or 0.24 per cent, higher at 59,833. The Nifty50, too, settled near 17,600-mark at 17,599, up 42 points or 0.24 per cent.

The broader markets, meanwhile, outran the frontline indices with 0.7 per cent gain each on the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices.

Among sectors, rate-sensitive Realty index surged nearly 3 per cent, followed by the Nifty Auto index (up 0.9 per cent), and the Nifty PSU Bank index (up 0.33 per cent). The Nifty IT index, however, capped gains as it fell 0.75 per cent.

Trading strategies for rate sensitive stocks

The RBI's decision has the power to trigger up to 15 per cent rally in rate sensitive stocks. READ MORE

4:18 PM

COMMENT:: Surprise policy move had a convincing effect on bond yields and market

The surprising policy move to pause interest rate hikes has had a convincing effect on bond yields and the stock market. A plausible peaking of the interest rate will have an positive effect on the financial markets, which was reflected in today’s drop in yield and marginal upside of domestic stock market when the Asian market was negative. However, the trend to continue during the year will depend on a consistent fall in inflation, which is forecasted to stay elevated above the FY24 target. Given the high gap between current and target inflation, the RBI will have to hold the rates high for a long period, limiting the upside."

 

- Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

4:18 PM

Bank Nifty:: Sustained trade above 41,000 could help extend the rally

The Bank index continued its rally on the upside and any dip was bought confidently by the bulls. The index surpassed the level of 40,000 last week and post that there has been a one-way rally. The index is now trading around the next resistance zone of 41,000 and if we sustain above this in the upcoming week we expect the rally to continue higher toward the 42,000 mark. The lower-end support is visible at the 40,600-40,500 zone which will act as a cushion for the bulls.

 

- Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

4:14 PM

Rate sensitive shares gain up to 3% as RBI keeps repo rate unchanged

Shares of rate sensitive sectors such as financials including banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFC), real estate and automobiles were trading firm after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent. READ MORE

4:11 PM

Singer India hits 10% upper circuit as Rakesh Khanna takes VC & MD charge

Khanna was the MD & CEO of Orient Electric, a leader in consumer appliances, with revenues of over Rs 2,500 crore. READ MORE

4:09 PM

Anupam Rasayan hits record high; zooms 58% in 2 mths on strong biz outlook

Last month, the company signed LoI worth revenue of $120 million (Rs 984 crore) for the next 6 years with Japanese Chemical company. READ MORE

4:07 PM

TTK Healthcare hits 5-year high on delisting plan; zooms 70% in 14 days

The board of directors are scheduled to meet on April 20, 2023 to consider the proposal for voluntary delisting of the equity shares of the company. READ MORE

4:05 PM

This casting & forging company stock has zoomed 107% in less than 10 months

RamKrishna Forgings and Titagarh consortium had recently won Rs 12,226 cr contract for manufacturing and supply of 1.54 mn forged wheels of different rolling stocks to the Railways over a period of 20 years. READ MORE

4:02 PM

Avenue Supermarts sheds 4% on profit booking post Q4 business update

The firm reported 20 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in standalone revenue from operations to Rs 10,337 crore for the quarter ended March (Q4FY23). READ MORE

3:59 PM

Sugar stocks hog limelight; Balrampur hits 11-month high

India's sugar production fell 3 per cent to 29.9 million tonnes (MT) in the first six months of the 2022 23-marketing year ending September, according to industry body ISMA. READ MORE

3:56 PM

Market Breadth fairly positive; 102 stocks hit 52-week high

3:54 PM

Nifty Realty index soars nearly 3%; Godrej Properties surges 6.5%; DLF 4%

3:51 PM

Nifty Auto index rallies 0.9%; Tata Motors, M&M lead

3:49 PM

Bank Nifty ends flat amid intra-day volatility; AU Bank gains 2%

3:47 PM

BSE Smallcap Heatmap:: Vakrangee, Tasty Bites zoom up to 14%; MPS slumps 13%

3:45 PM

BSE Midcap Heatmap:: Chola Finance soars nearly 8%; Varun Beverages cracks 4%