Indian shares ended off their day’s highs on Friday despite positive global cues and better-than-expected December quarter results from State Bank of India.
Earlier today, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left its key interest rates unchanged, as expected, at the first policy-setting meeting of the year.
The central bank projected GDP growth of 10.5 percent in FY22, while projection for CPI-based inflation has been revised to 5.2 percent for Q4FY21.
The key takeways include normalization of CRR in two-phases, reduction in SLR requirement and deferment of implementation of 0.625 percent of capital conservation buffer.
Meanwhile, in a big initiative which will broader the investor base, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das announced direct online participation by retail investors in government securities in both primary and secondary market.
Key benchmark indexes ended higher for the fifth straight session after hitting record highs in early trade.
The S&P BSE Sensex surpassed the 51,000-mark for the first time before giving up some gains to end the session up 117.34 points, or 0.23 percent, at 50,731.63.
The broader NSE Nifty index briefly traded above the 15,000 mark before settling at 14,924.25, up 28.60 points, or 0.19 percent from its previous close.
Both the indexes jumped around 9.5 percent for the week – marking their best weekly advance since April last year.
SBI soared 11.3 percent on brokerage upgrades while Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Divis Laboratories and Tata Steel climbed 3-5 percent.
On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki, UPL, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank dropped 2-3 percent.
Sensex, Nifty End Off Day’s Highs
2021-02-05 11:12:57
