Indian shares recovered from an early slide to end little changed on Friday despite weak cues from global markets.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex reversed course to end up 20.59 points, or 0.03 percent, at 74,248.22 as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5 percent and retained the outlook for inflation and GDP growth for 2024-25, assuming a normal monsoon.
The broader NSE Nifty index settled virtually unchanged at 22,513.70.
Banks and Financials topped the gainers list, with HDFC Life, Bajaj FinServ, HDFC Bank, SBI Life and Kotak Mahindra Bank rising 1-2 percent.
Among the prominent decliners, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement and Grasim fell 1-2 percent.
Global sentiment was fragile as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials and rising oil prices as a result of escalating geopolitical tensions dented demand for riskier assets.
Gold held steady in European trade and the dollar pulled away from two-week lows ahead of key U.S. jobs data due later in the day and inflation reports out next week.
Oil prices were little changed but headed for a second weekly gain due to a worsening conflict in the Middle East and hopes for a possible surge in demand from some of the largest consumers of oil, such as the U.S. and China.
Market Analysis
Sensex, Nifty Reverse Early Losses A Banks, Financials Surge
2024-04-05 10:26:49
