Market Wrap, Oct 9: Here's all that happened in the markets today

The news in detail:

Continuing their gaining streak for the seventh session in a row, the benchmark indices ended nearly a per cent higher on Friday after the monetary policy committee (MPC) of the RBI left the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent but announced various liquidity measures to support the economy.

Further, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the stance of the policy would remain “accommodative,” for “as long as necessary – at least during the current financial year and into the next year – to revive growth. 

The S&P BSE Sensex today ended 327 points, or 0.81 per cent higher at 40,509 levels while the Nifty50 index settled above the 11,900-mark at 11,914, up 80 points, or 0.67 per cent. Meanwhile, the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies touched a new high of Rs 160.68 trillion today, led by Reliance Industries (RIL), and information technology (IT) stocks.

On a weekly basis, Sensex rallied 4.6 per cent and Nifty gained 4.3 per cent.

The Nifty sectoral indices were mixed. While Nifty Bank gained nearly 3 per cent to 23,847 levels, Nifty Pharma ended as the biggest loser - down over 1.3 per cent. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index slipped 0.42 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap ended 0.29 per cent lower at 14,966 levels.

Now, let's take a look at the global markets

World shares pushed on from one-month highs, with Asian stocks closing in on two-and-a-half-year highs, as expectations grew of a Democratic victory in US elections next month, reviving hopes for more US stimulus.

In commodities, oil prices fell, erasing earlier gains but still leaving both benchmarks on track for their biggest weekly gains since early June on the back of supply cuts caused by a storm in the Gulf of Mexico and a strike of offshore workers in Norway.