Mumbai: The domestic benchmark equity indices closed in green on Wednesday as buying was seen in the PSU bank and realty sectors. Investors are keenly watching the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting, which will announce its decision regarding the repo rate on Friday.

Banking stocks rose amid volatile market sessions due to the possibility of the central bank cutting the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR). The Sensex settled at 80,956.3, higher by 110.58 points, or 0.14 percent, while the Nifty ended at 24,467.45, up by 10.30 points, or 0.04 percent.

Anticipation of CRR reduction energised banking stocks, pushing the Bank Nifty index over 1 per cent higher with the PSU Banking Index outperforming its private sector counterpart, as investors turned optimistic ahead of the RBI monetary policy meeting announcement.

On the broader market front, the Nifty Midcap 100 ended at 58,112.40, higher by 603.40 points, or 1.05 percent. while the Nifty SmallCap 100 ended at 19,173.55, higher by 170 points, or 0.89 percent.

According to experts, the domestic market maintained a positive trajectory, despite some volatility stemming from mixed sentiments in Asian markets due to the situation in South Korea.

“Broader indices showed strong performance, with the banking and financial sectors continuing to excel. Conversely, auto stocks were impacted by mixed November sales results. The upcoming speech by the FED Chair could sway market sentiments, as recent FED minutes have shown confidence in the easing of inflation,” they added.

On the sectoral front, Nifty PSU Bank, Realty, Financial Service, IT, Media, Private Bank and PSE ended in green, while Nifty Auto, Pharma, FMCG, Metal, Energy and Infra ended in red.

In the Sensex pack, HDFC Bank, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, TCS, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Finance were the top gainers. Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Power Grid, Maruti, Reliance and ITC were the top losers.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,383 shares were traded in green and 1,582 in red. Whereas, there was no change in 105 shares.

According to Rupak De of LKP Securities, the Nifty remained choppy throughout the day as investors exercised caution ahead of the RBI’s monetary policy announcement.

“A decisive move above 24,700 could trigger a continuation of its upward momentum. Conversely, a fall below 24,350 could weaken market sentiment,” he added.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

–IANS