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| Edited By: |Source: PTI |Updated: Mar 30, 2018, 04:14 AM IST
Investors shrugged off RBI's yet another hike in lending rate to tame inflation and ended the Samvat year 2067 today on a cheerful note, with the BSE Sensex shooting up 316 points to nearly 3-month high of 17,254.86.
The central bank hinted at a pause in further rate hike which, analysts said, provided some relief to investors.
Overall, the stock market was highly volatile and global trends mixed.
The Reserve Bank raised its lending rates by 25 basis points -- 13th hike since March, 2010 -- and lowered the GDP growth projection to 7.6 per cent for this fiscal.
RBI's repo rate (at which it lends money to banks) and reverse-repo rate (at which it borrows) are now 8.5 per cent 7.5 per cent.
The move will make all loans, including home and auto, costly and crimp corporate margins but analysts said the hike was factored in by some market players.
The BSE 30-share barometer opened firm, following strong Asian cues, but fell back in the negative terrain to a low of 16,900.26 -- initial knee jerk reaction to rate hike.
However, frenzied short-coverings on the last day of settlement in the October derivative contracts and a hint by RBI that it may pause further hike improved market sentiment.
The Sensex bounced back and settled at nearly 3-month high of 17,254.86, up 315.58 points or 1.86 per cent.
The NSE index Nifty rose 93.25 points to 5,191.60, after moving between 5,085.55 and 5,211 points.
Although Samvat year 2067 closed with buoyant mood, the Sensex has lost almost 3,640 points or 17.41 per cent since last Diwali.
"The rally was despite a 25 bps rate hike which was largely in line with street expectation as the RBI governor indicated that this could be the last round of hike in interest rate unless inflation remains stubborn. This had a positive impact in the market especially in the interest sensitive sectors like Auto and Real Estate," said Parag Doctor, Senior Analyst at Motilal Oswal Securities.
Globally, key indices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan closed with gains, while from Japan and South Korea ended with losses. In Europe, the CAC was trading down, while the DAX and FTSE were up in the afternoon deals.
Back home, FIIs pumped in Rs 101.10 crore yesterday,after pulling out Rs 609.10 crore as per Sebi data.
Of the Sensex pack, 26 closed with gains, while SBI (3.52 pc), HDFC Bank (3.17 pc) and BHEL (1.07 pc) ended with losses. Coal India concluded stable. M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex with a rise of 5.49 per cent, followed by Wipro (4.29 pc), HDFC (4.23 pc), Sterlite Ind (4.23 pc), Sun Pharma (3.80 pc), Tata Steel (3.57 pc), Bajaj Auto (3.46 pc), Maruti Suzuki (3.46 pc), RIL (3.40 pc), L&T (3.27 pc), Tata Motors (3.17 pc), Infosys (3.10 pc), Jaiprakash (2.70 pc), ITC (1.91 pc), TCS (1.85 pc), Hindalco (1.66 pc), Jindal Steel (1.64 pc), Bharti Airtel (1.37 pc) and ICICI Bank (0.91 pc).
Among sectoral indices, BSE-Auto spurted 2.95 per cent, IT by 2.66 pc, Oil&Gas by 2.22 pc, Teck by 2.19 pc, Metal by 1.93 pc and Capital Goods by 1.87 pc. Consumer Durables dipped by 2.94 per cent and Bankex by 1.20 pc.
The market breadth was balanced as 1,375 stocks closed in the green, while 1,374 finished in the red. The total turnover rose to Rs 2,438.04 crore from Rs 1,996.15 crore yesterday.
Tomorrow, there will be no regular trading on BSE and NSE but a special Muhurat trading session will be held from 1645 hrs to 1800 hrs on account of Diwali.
