INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Mumbai: BSE benchmark Sensex rallied 163.37 points on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of India decided to keep interest rates unchanged as
widely expected and said it will continue with accommodative stance.
In a unanimous decision, the monetary policy committee (MPC) decided to
hold policy rates at 5.15 per cent.
The central bank reiterated that it will continue with its stance as long as it was necessary to revive
growth, while ensuring that inflation remains within the target
In its review, the MPC noted that even though several parameters indicate improvement in economic activity, the outlook remains subdued.
The
30-share Sensex closed 0.40 per cent or 163.37 points higher at 41,306.03, while 50-share Nifty rose 0.37 per cent or 44.50 points to
12,133.65.
Market at a glanceMarket breadth was in the positive territory, as advancing shares outnumbered declining ones in the ratio of
1.3:1 on BSE.
Broader market put up a better show, with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices logging 0.79 per cent and 0.56 per cent gains,
Brigade Enterprises, Sobha, and Godrej Properties rose 2.85 per cent, 1.49per cent, and 2.20 per cent respectively.
PNB Housing Finance and
Indiabulls Housing Finance rose 5.03 per cent and 14.58 per cent respectively.
In a big boost to project loans in the commercial real estate
sector, RBI decided to extend the date of commencement for these loans by a year without downgrading asset classification.
This move would
bring these loans in lines with the treatment rendered to other project loans in the non-infrastructure sector
The RBI is expected to issue detailed guidelines on this shortly.
State-run ITI climbed 5.94 per cent after the telecom equipment maker
decided to withdraw Rs 1,400 crore follow-on-public offer (FPO), citing market conditions.
V-Mart Retail soared 13.38 per cent after the
company posted a 40 per cent jump in December quarter profits.
Avenue Supermarts scaled fresh high of Rs 2,360.75 after the DMart
supermarket chain operator launched a qualified institutional placement (QIP) to raise up to Rs 4,000 crore on Wednesday
measures to spur growth in credit came as a surprise
Removal of CRR for loans made to specific sectors and open market operations will support the economy with more credits at lower rates
Inflation rate is forecasted to subsequently reduce in the coming months and provide more room for RBI to cut interest rates as and when
cheered by record closes in Wall Street benchmarks following encouraging economic data, and after China announced a cut in tariffs on some
and a swathe of strong earnings, Reuters reported.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose as much as 0.7 per cent to a record high of