FINAL TRADE: Record closing high on D-Street! Nifty ends at 20,969, Sensex surges 304 pts

Stock market today: Domestic blue-chip indexes Nifty 50 and Sensex advanced on Friday, December 8, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stood pat on key rates for a fifth consecutive time and raised its growth forecast for fiscal 2023-2024. Financial stocks and information technology (IT) shares were at the forefront, resulting in a stellar market rally.

The NSE Nifty 50 index ended 68.25 points, or 0.33 per cent, higher at 20,969.4 and the S&P BSE Sensex finished the day with a gain of 303.91 points, or 0.44 per cent at 69,825.6—both record-closing highs—after scaling record highs during the session. Nifty 50 clocked the 21,000 mark for the first time just around the RBI outcome announcement.

The high-beta Nifty Bank also registered a fresh closing peak, finishing the day 420.6 points, or 0.9 per cent, higher at 47,262. In addition, Nifty IT closed at 33,392.9, up by 431.3 points, or 1.31 per cent, aided by buying HCL Tech, LTIMindtree, Persistent Systems, and other stocks.

Among second-rung stocks, the Nifty SmallCap 100 and the Nifty MidCap 100 both ended in red, down by 1.09 per cent and 0.21 per cent, respectively.

HCL Tech, JSW Steel, LTIMindtree, and Apollo Hospitals were among the top gainers in the Nifty basket, which traded with gains of around 3-2 per cent. On the other hand, Adani Enterprises, ITC, Adani Ports, and Hero MotoCorp were among the top losers.

"The RBI took a balanced approach by raising the economic growth forecast and also expressing concern about food inflation, which may have an elevated trajectory in the short term, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.

"A drop in rabi sowing and dipping reservoir levels provides a perception that foodgrain prices can rise. The impact was visible on FMCG stocks, which underperformed today," Nair added.

Global Market

European shares advanced on Friday, boosted by luxury and energy stocks, while investors assessed Germany's inflation data and waited for a key US employment report to reaffirm expectations of a peak in global interest rates. The pan-European STOXX 600 index climbed 0.6 per cent, headed for a fourth straight weekly gain.

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