Stock Market extended gains for a third session on Friday on a larger-than-expected rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) along with a cash reserve ratio (CRR) cut. Nifty 50 posted its best day in three weeks.
At close, the Sensex was up 746.95 points or 0.92% at 82,188.99, and the Nifty was up 252.15 points or 1.02% at 25,003.05. The broader indices ended higher with the Nifty Midcap index jumping 1.2% and the Smallcap index adding 0.8%.
Investors’ wealth increased by more than Rs 3.5 lakh crore lakh crore as the market capitalization of BSE-listed companies jumped to Rs 451 lakh crore from Rs 447.5 lakh crore a session ago.
Meanwhile, the India VIX declined over 2%, indicating reduced volatility expectations. Among the sectors, the Nifty Realty index surged 4.68%, becoming the top-performing sector.
Nifty Financial Services index rose by 1.75%, while Nifty Bank and Nifty Auto added 1.5% each. Further, the Nifty Metal index was up 1.9%, and the Nifty Oil and Gas index, added 0.6%. Nifty IT and Nifty Healthcare added 0.5% each while Nifty FMCG rose 0.3% and Nifty Pharma was up 0.2%.
On Nifty50, 45 constituents close in the green, with financial stocks including Shriram Finance and Bajaj Finance emerging as top gainers, rallying 5.7% and 5%, respectively. Private banking counters zoomed over 1.6%, such as Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Bajaj Finance shares rallied nearly 5% after the RBI Governor announced that stress in unsecured loans and credit card segments has abated.
The auto stocks like Eicher Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki India, and Mahindra & Mahindra jumped between 1.6% and 3%.
Moreover, around 119 stocks hit their 52-week high. These included Abbott India Ltd, APL Apollo Tubes Ltd, AU Small Finance Bank Ltd, Bajaj Holdings & Investment Ltd, Bharat Electronics Ltd, HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, Muthoot Finance Ltd, SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd, Solar Industries India Ltd, and SRF Ltd.
On the other hand, around 36 stocks touched 52-week lows, with notable mentions like Protean eGov Technologies Ltd, Axita Cotton Ltd, Naksh Precious Metals Ltd, and Uma Exports Ltd.