Nifty settles above 17,600, Sensex adds over 450 points buoyed by MPC policy outcome; banking stocks gain

Domestic equity market was seen cheering the RBI MPC policy outcome as the benchmarks surged after Reserve Bank of India decided to maintain status quo around key lending rates. Keeping stance accommodative, the monetary policy committee held the repo rate, at 4%, while the reverse repo rate, or the key borrowing rate, was also kept unchanged at 3.35%. 

Soon after the announcements, the broader Nifty reclaimed 17,600, while the Sensex gained over 500 points to cross 50,000-mark as the 12-share banking index Nifty Bank too surged over 1 per cent to sit atop 39,000. The Nifty50 closed at 17,605.85,Sensex ended at 58,926.03 and Bank Nifty settled on 39,010.95 on weekly F&O expiry day on Thursday. All sectoral indices, except for auto and PSU Bank which closed flat with negtaive bias, were sitting in the green at the closing as financial services, media and metal gained the most on Thursday.    

After a quiet start ahead of US inflation data and state elections back home, Indices recovered smartly post the accommodative stance of the RBI which held rates status quo, said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP securities.  

"As the volatility index cooled off, Metals led the rally well supported by Real Estate & Mortgage companies in the broader market. Buoyed by a lower inflation forecast going forward, the rally percolated to IT & Financials in afternoon trade," he added.  

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Meanwhile, ONGC, Tata Steel, Infosys, SBI Life, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, HDFC limited, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra and State Bank of India (SBI) gained the most on Thursday.  

Maruti, IOC, Shree Cement, Ultratech Cement, Divis Laboratories and Reliance were among the drags in a positive market.  

Earlier, Sonam Srivastava, Founder at Wright Research, SEBI Registered Investment Advisor, said as governor kept the outlook accommodative and supportive for growth, the bond yields have fallen, and the bond markets are rallying, leading to market profits for the banks and banking and housing finance companies rallying. "There is a cheer from the market in all quarters right now, which is a big positive, but with all major global central banks turning neutral from dovish, market participants would closely monitor this move by the RBI to see if they are falling behind the curve, "she added.  

"The RBI is more focused on protecting the nascent recovery rather than on increasing rates. This will fray a lot of nerves and will cool down the bond yields. The interest rate-sensitive stocks like banks, real estate, and autos will be the biggest beneficiaries," said Abhay Agarwal, Founder, and Fund Manager, Piper Serica, SEBI Registered Portfolio Management Service Provider.