Equity benchmark Sensex hit record-breaking numbers as it crossed the 45,000 mark for the first time on Friday, tracking strong buying sentiment in financial stocks after RBI's policy outcome.
Earlier in the day, the Reserve Bank of India left interest rates unchanged for a third straight meeting as inflation stayed stubbornly high, and said the economy was recuperating fast and would return to positive growth in the current quarter itself.
The Sensex rallied 447 points on Friday.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty touched a new high of 13,280.05 during the session, before finishing 124.65 points or 0.95 per cent higher at 13,258.55 -- its record closing high.
The top gainer of the Sensex pack was the ICICI Bank, which rose around 4 per cent, followed by UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, HUL, SBI, L&T, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank.
Among the laggards were Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Tech and HDFC were among the laggards.
The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) "decided to continue with the accommodative stance of monetary policy as long as necessary - at least through the current financial year and into the next year," Governor Shaktikanta Das said.
The central bank’s aim is "to revive growth on a durable basis, and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 while ensuring that inflation remains within the target going forward," he added.
According to Gaurav Dua, SVP, Head - Capital Market Strategy and Investments, at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, growth remains high on the priority of RBI.
"The commentary is dovish in spite of the elevated level of inflationary pressure. It essentially means the liquidity situation would be comfortable and interest rates likely to remain soft in the near term. However, we see limited scope for further easing of interest rates by banks to borrowers given the tapering of growth in retail deposits and rising credit demand in the economy," he noted.
