In a surprising turn of events that has set Dalal Street abuzz, the Sensex rocketed past the 82,000 mark on Wednesday morning. This surge comes hot on the heels of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to shift its monetary policy stance to ‘neutral’, a move that has investors seeing rupee signs.
The BSE Sensex shot up by a whopping 556.97 points, touching 82,191.78 in early trade. Not to be left behind, its cousin Nifty also joined the party, rising by 78.70 points to reach 25,091.85. It seems the bulls are back in town, and they’re wearing their dancing shoes!
Banking and IT stocks emerged as the life of this market party. State Bank of India, Axis Bank, and Bajaj Finance were seen leading the conga line, closely followed by Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, PowerGrid, and HCL Technologies.
However, not everyone was in a celebratory mood. Nestle India, ITC, HUL, HDFC Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra seemed to have missed the memo and were sitting this dance out.
The star of the show was undoubtedly the RBI’s decision to maintain status quo on interest rates for the tenth consecutive time. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, in his best poker face, announced that the repo rate would remain unchanged at 6.5%. This comes despite the US Federal Reserve’s recent 50 basis point rate cut, proving once again that in the world of central banking, India marches to its own drummer.
Suresh Darak, Founder of Bondbazaar, commented, “The RBI has taken a prudent approach, focusing on key indicators like domestic inflation and financial stability. It’s like they’re playing a high-stakes game of Jenga, carefully balancing growth and inflation.”
As the day progressed, Asian markets seemed to be playing their own version of musical chairs, with Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Seoul trading on a mixed note. Meanwhile, global oil prices decided to join the party, with Brent Crude climbing to $77.91 a barrel.
With FIIs and DIIs playing tug-of-war with Indian equities, one thing’s for sure – the Indian market is never short on drama. As we watch this financial soap opera unfold, one can’t help but wonder: what exciting plot twist will tomorrow bring?