Nifty50 breaches 21,000 for first time as RBI holds rates
In response to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) policy moves, the Nifty50 surpassed the 21000 mark for the first time, touching an all-time high of 21,006.10. The RBI has chosen to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.50% after a three-day monetary policy meeting, marking the fifth time in a row that the rate has remained unchanged. The Sensex also hit an all-time high of 69888.33 points.
Today's performance overview of the Nifty index
In the Nifty50, 36 stocks were trading in the green while 14 were in red, in the early trade. The Nifty50 index has surged over 4% this December, its best performance since 2020. Nine stocks in the Nifty Bank index were up, while three were down in the early trade. The Nifty Bank index was also trading 0.6% higher, marking a 5% gain for the week, set for its largest weekly rally since July 2022.
Performance of sector-specific indices
Rate-sensitive sectors like banks, financial services, and public and private banks saw gains ranging from 0.3% to 0.8%, while real estate gained up to 1.2%. Nifty IT gained 0.98%, while Nifty HEALTHCARE was down 0.5%. The Nifty MIDCAP 100 remained steady at 44,500.60 and the Nifty SMLCAP 100 trimmed initial gains to trade at 14,514.60, marking a 0.33% decline.
RBI raises GDP growth projection for FY24
The RBI in its monetary policy meeting pointed out key contributors to India's economic growth. These include strong investment activity driven by government capex, capacity utilization in the manufacturing sector above the long-term average, and festival demand boosting household consumption. Based on these factors, the RBI raised its GDP growth projection for the current fiscal year (FY24) to 7.0% from 6.5% previously. The projections for the third and fourth quarters of FY24 have been kept at 6.5% and 6%, respectively.
