Mumbai: Following the Reserve Bank keeping its interest rates unchanged for the fourth consecutive time, the Sensex ended trading up 152 points in a volatile session today.
In today’s morning trade, the Sensex opened higher and touched the day’s high of 79,055.38 in the first half. In the afternoon, it fell by 769.64 points to hit a low of 78,285.74. The 30-share Sensex closed 152.05 points higher at 78,581, with 17 stocks advancing, 12 declining, and one remaining unchanged.
The Nifty, which comprises 50 stocks, rose 9.75 points to settle at 24,624.65 points. During the session, the index touched a high of 24,677.60 points and later a low of 24,497.95 points.
As trading drew to a close, shares of leading banking, automobile, and capital goods sector companies rose.
Following the stock exchanges’ introduction of a new auction mechanism for stocks with futures and options contracts, large-scale differences have been seen among the indices since the day before yesterday (Monday). In the stock exchange’s cash segment, the trading close auction method called the “Closing Auction Session” came into effect from Monday. This new auction mechanism has been introduced to determine the closing price of eligible stocks, with the aim of making the price discovery process much more transparent and robust.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank kept its interest rate unchanged for the fourth consecutive meeting, taking a wait-and-watch approach until there is clarity on whether the rise in energy costs caused by the Iran war will lead to inflationary pressures.
In the Sensex, shares including UltraTech Cement, NTPC, State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, InterGlobe Aviation, and Kotak Mahindra rose, while shares of Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech, Reliance Industries, and Bharat Electronics fell.
Indian stock markets ended largely unchanged as investors remained cautious amid uncertainty over whether a permanent solution to the Middle East conflict would be found, with profit-taking following the recent rally. Nifty, which opened above its final level before the closing auction session, maintained a cautious market tone despite supportive signals, as selling pressure emerged throughout the session.
According to the data, foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs. 2,446.47 crore yesterday (Tuesday).
In the Asian market, South Korea’s Kospi index rose 3.76 percent, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 3.66 percent. Shanghai’s SSE Composite Index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also closed higher.
Markets in Europe traded in positive territory. U.S. markets rose significantly yesterday (Tuesday).
Global Brent crude oil is up 1.75 percent to 80.75 U.S. dollars per barrel.
