Dalal Street Closes In Green Post MPC As Sensex Rises Over 200 Points, Nifty Tests 25,674

The Indian benchmark indices closed higher on Friday as the Sensex increased over 200 points to close at 83,526 and the Nifty ended 25,674 rising 31 points, at 3:30 PM.

In the 30-share BSE Sensex, among the top gainers were stocks like ITC, Kotak Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Finance. Meanwhile, the laggards included stocks like Ultra Cement, Tata Steel, Trent, IndiGo and Sun Pharmaceuticals.

In the broader markets, the Nifty 100 rose 0.9 per cent and the Nifty Microcap 250 declined 0.96 per cent. Sectorally the Nifty FMCG jumped 2.24 per cent and the Nifty Midsmall IT & Telecom fell 1.76 per cent.

Previuosly, during the morning session, the BSE Sensex started trading today near 83,200, tanking more than 100 points, while the NSE Nifty50 stood just above 25,600, falling almost 40 points, as of 9:15 AM.

RBI Policy Decision

This was the first monetary policy review after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget for the 2026–27 financial year.

Announcing the sixth and final bi-monthly monetary policy of the current fiscal, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had decided to retain the short-term lending rate, or repo rate, at 5.25 per cent, while maintaining a neutral stance.

RBI’s policy outcome was in line with expectations, V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, said. “RBI's monetary policy came exactly on expected lines with no change in rates, and stance kept unchanged at neutral,” he noted.

Market Performance: Gainers And Laggards

From the Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Trent, State Bank of India, Bharat Electronics, Tata Steel, Asian Paints and Infosys emerged as major laggards.

ITC, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Power Grid were among the gainers.

Global Market Cues

Asian markets traded mixed. South Korea’s Kospi fell nearly 3 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined over 1 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and China’s Shanghai SSE Composite index were quoted higher.

US markets ended lower on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite index tumbled 1.59 per cent, the S&P 500 declined 1.23 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.20 per cent.

Risk-Off Sentiment Weighs

Global equity markets are trading with a pronounced risk-off bias following sharp losses in the overnight US session, Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

“Weakness in global technology stocks and commodities continues to weigh on sentiment, with selling pressure extending into Asian markets,” he said.

The ongoing correction in global technology stocks reflects a combination of stretched valuations, rising AI-related cost concerns, and muted investor response to recent big-tech earnings and outlooks, he added.

FII Activity And Crude Oil

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,150.51 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.44 per cent to USD 67.92 per barrel.