The Indian stock market on Friday inched 0.6% higher, led by the response of financials as the Reserve Bank of India lowered the key interest rate by 25 basis points.
At close, Sensex ended the day with a healthy gain of 447 points, or 0.52%, at 85,712.37, while the Nifty 50 settled at 26,186.45, up 153 points, or 0.59%.
The BSE Midcap index ended with a modest gain of 0.21% but the Smallcap index fell 0.67%.
Gains in the large and mid-caps lifted the overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms to nearly Rs 471 lakh crore from Rs 470 lakh crore in the previous session.
Among the sectors, reacting to the RBI decision, the Nifty Bank was up 0.82% and Financial Services 0.98% ended with healthy gains. Further, the PSU Bank index jumped 1.51%, while the Private Bank index gained 0.49%.
Nifty IT (up 0.90%) and Auto (0.74%) also clocked healthy gains.
On Nifty, around 38 stocks ended in the green. These included the top gainers as Shriram Finance up by 3.04%, SBI up by 2.49%, and Bajaj Finserv up by 2.13%.
Shares of HUL (4.92%), Eternal (1.35%), and InterGlobe Aviation (1.27%) ended as the top losers in the index.
Out of 4,328 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,805 advanced, while 2,342 declined. Some 181 stocks remained unchanged.
On BSE, 91 stocks hit their 52-week highs while as many as 304 stocks hit their 52-week lows.
The key ones on the highs were Hero MotoCorp, Aditya Birla Capital, Hindustan Copper, National Aluminium Company, SKF India (Industrial), and SKF India (Industrial).
Those on lows were UBL, REC, PFC, IREDA, and Thermax. Reacting to the RBI MPC decision, banks and NBFCs led the rally.
Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, Sundaram Finance, Shriram Finance, Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company, Muthoot Finance, L&T Finance, Aditya Birla Capital, RBL Bank, Manappuram Finance, PNB Housing Finance, State Bank of India, and Bajaj Finserv rallied between 6% and 2.4%.
The Asian indices ended on a mixed note, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 being the major drag.
South Korea’s KOSPI led the pack of gainers in the region, with automobile, electronics, and battery companies gaining in the session.