Indian share markets ended on a strong note on Friday.
The Sensex crossed 45,000-mark for the first time, as the RBI upgraded its GDP target for the current fiscal year and kept interest rates steady in the face of stubbornly high inflation.
At the closing bell on Friday, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 447 points (up 1%).
The NSE Nifty closed higher by 125 points (up 1%).
ICICI Bank and UltraTech Cement were among the top gainers.
Both, the BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended up by 0.4%.
On the sectoral front, gains were largely seen in the banking sector, FMCG sector and telecom sector.
Market participants were tracking travel related stocks. IRCTC share price zoomed 15% as Covid-19 vaccine related optimism continued to boost travel related stocks. Meanwhile, InterGlobe Aviation and SpiceJet also surged in the range of 5-10% on Friday.
Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX were trading up by 0.1% at Rs 49,344 per 10 grams at the time of closing stock market hours on Friday.
To know more about gold, you can check out our detailed article on investing in gold here: How to Invest in Gold?
Speaking of stock markets, the past month was a staggering one. Benchmark indices saw huge buying interest and went on to touch record-high levels.
The BSE smallcap index was up 13% in November.
The BSE smallcap index has risen more than 10% in a month only 6 times in the last decade.
Foreign investors (FIIs) invested a net amount of around Rs 650 billion in November. This is the biggest purchase by FIIs by a big margin so far.
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Among the buzzing stocks today will be Bharti Airtel.
According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Bharti Airtel surpassed Reliance Jio in new mobile subscriber addition in September after a gap of four years.
Bharti Airtel led mobile subscriber growth in September 2020 with a net addition of 3.8 million new customers. It was followed by Reliance Jio with net addition of 1.5 million and BSNL with 78,454 new customers.
Vodafone Idea was the biggest loser as it lost 4.6 million subscribers during the reported month. MTNL and Reliance Communications lost 5,784 and 1,324 customers, respectively.
The total telecom subscriber base in the country increased marginally to 1,168.7 million in the reported month from 1,167.8 million in August.
Market participants will track Interglobe Aviation (IndiGo) share price and SpiceJet share price as it was reported that airlines in India will be able to sell seats up to 80% of their pre-covid capacity on domestic flights, up from the existing 70%, in a further relaxation of restrictions in the sector hammered by the covid-19 pandemic.
Granules India share price will also be in focus today as the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) has approved the abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) filed by Granules Pharmaceuticals (GPI), a wholly-owned foreign subsidiary of Granules India, for Penicillamine capsules USP, 250 mg.
Penicillamine capsules are indicated in the treatment of Wilson's disease, cystinuria, and in patients with severe, active rheumatoid arthritis who have failed to respond to an adequate trial of conventional therapy.
Firm Global Cues: Global stock markets were buoyed on Friday amid positive macroeconomic data flow from China, US stimulus negotiations, and developments on the Covid-19 vaccine front.
India's Covid-19 Vaccine News: Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week said India's vaccination programme against Covid-19 would begin as soon as a go-ahead from scientists is given, and asserted that healthcare workers involved in treating coronavirus patients, frontline workers and old people suffering from serious conditions would be inoculated on priority.
In his closing remarks at an all-party meeting with leaders of various political parties to discuss the pandemic situation, Modi said experts believe the wait for vaccine will not be long and it may be ready in a few weeks.
Bluechips Continue Momentum: Indian share market ended at record highs on Friday as bluechip stocks including Asian Paints, Mahindra and Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Titan and UltraTech Cement hit their fresh 52-week highs.
Revised Growth Prospects: The RBI revised its forecast of economic growth for the current fiscal year (2020-21) to minus 7.5% compared to its earlier forecast of minus 9.5%.
Banking Stocks Rally: The Nifty Bank index rose 2.3% to cross the 30,000-mark on Friday. Banking stocks gained after RBI announced to keep system liquidity in surplus.
We will keep you updated on how these factors develop in the coming days and what effect they have on Indian stock markets. Stay tuned!
In news from the banking sector, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained benchmark rates at the same levels of 4% in its policy meet on Friday. The reverse repo rate stays at 3.35%.
This was the third meeting on run that the central bank chose to keep the rates unchanged.
Shares of interest rate sensitive sectors, mainly financials and automobiles, were trading firm after the RBI's decision to keep interest rates unchanged.
The RBI maintained the status quo on the benchmark lending rates in view of persistently high inflation and a lower-than-expected contraction of the economy.
Here are the key highlights from last week's monetary policy:
The RBI revised its forecast of economic growth for the current fiscal year (2020-21) to minus 7.5% compared to its earlier forecast of minus 9.5%. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said the change in forecast has been prompted by a surge in demand in both rural as well as urban areas.
The second half of the fiscal year is expected to show positive growth despite disruptions caused by coronavirus pandemic, he added.
Das said that retail inflation is seen at 6.8% in third quarter, at 5.8% for Q4FY21, and 5.2-4.6% in H1 FY22.
RTGS system to be made 24x7 in next few days. From January onwards, the limit for contactless card transaction will be upped from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per transaction.
Regarding NBFCs, Das said a regulatory framework review is needed. Das also committed to do whatever is required to maintain stability of the financial sector. Near-term stability issued has been handled, he added.
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