MAJOR HEADLINES:
RBI keeps repo, reverse repo and CRR unchanged.
Hero Honda board okays joint venture split with Honda; the stock ends 3.57% higher.
ONGC board approves stock split, bonus issue; the stock closes 0.55% higher.
The Sensex closed higher by 217 points on Thursday as sentiments turned bullish after the RBI kept interest rates unchanged. After taking a pause in the previous session, the domestic markets continued its upmove on Thursday's trade. The sentiments received a boost after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept interest rates unchanged after six increases this year and said it would inject cash to alleviate a liquidity crunch in the banking system. Information Technology (IT) stocks gained the most and also lifted the markets higher. The markets registered a strong growth in the last hour of the trade and both the benchmark indices gained around 1%.
The RBI kept repo rate unchanged at 6.25%, reverse repo at 5.25% and cash reserve ratio at 6%. The statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) has been cut to 24%.
State Bank of India, the largest lender of the country, advanced by 2.44%. The RBI will buy government bonds and reduce the amount of money lenders need to invest in the securities, policy makers said in their statement today. IT biggies like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies and Wipro were among the top gainers in the Sensex and the Nifty.
The Sensex started the session 51 points higher at 19699. The index hovered between the negative and positive territory and remained rangebound in the morning session. The index turned negative in afternoon session and hit the day’s low of 19554. The Sensex witnessed a sharp pullback and hit the day’s high of 19897 in late trade as buying was seen in IT and banking stocks. Finally, the Sensex closed 217 points higher at 19865 and the Nifty rose 56 points to close at 5949.
The market breadth was positive as rising shares outnumbered the declining ones. Out of the 3,012 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,534 gained while 1,314 fell and 164 traded unchanged. Among ‘A' group stocks, top three gainers - Suzlon Energy gained by 5.92%, Steel Authority of India rose by 5.32% and Shree Renuka Sugars advanced by 4.98%. Top three losers - United Phosphorus slid by 3.19%, Container Corporation declined by 3.03% and Mahindra & Mahindra lost by 2.73%.
The market breadth was positive as rising shares outnumbered the declining ones. Out of the 3,012 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,534 gained while 1,314 fell and 164 traded unchanged. Among ‘A' group stocks, top three gainers - Suzlon Energy gained by 5.92%, Steel Authority of India rose by 5.32% and Shree Renuka Sugars advanced by 4.98%. Top three losers - United Phosphorus slid by 3.19%, Container Corporation declined by 3.03% and Mahindra & Mahindra lost by 2.73%.
