Markets close in red after RBI Policy outcome; Sensex fell 132 points & Nifty ends 0.13% down

The domestic equity benchmarks ended with small losses on Friday, June 4, 2021. The benchmark indices saw profit booking.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 132.38 points or 0.25 per cent to 52,100.05. The Nifty 50 index lost 20.10 points or 0.13 per cent to settle at 15,670.25. The Nifty Bank index fell 375.35 points or 1 per cent to close at 35,291.65.

Healthy buying was seen in the broader market. The BSE MidCap index advanced 0.63 per cent and the S&P BSE SmallCap index added 0.78 per cent. Both the indices hit record peak levels of 22,540.16 and 24,280.37, respectively in intra-day trade.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1877 shares rose and 1300 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index on the NSE, 25 shares advanced and 25 shares declined. The top five gainers on the Nifty 50 index were Tata Motors (up 3.42 per cent), Grasim (up 3.31 per cent), Coal India (up 2.78 per cent), Bajaj Finserv (up 2.58 per cent) and ONGC (up 2.16 per cent). The top five losers were Nestle India (down 2 per cent), SBI (down 1.22 per cent), Hindalco (down 1.11 per cent), HDFC Bank (down 1.11 per cent) and Axis Bank (down 1.05 per cent).

RBI keeps key rates unchanged

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent while maintaining its accommodative stance after the conclusion of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting today.

Based on an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, the MPC at its meeting today decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 4 per cent. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF remains unchanged at 3.35 per cent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the bank rate at 4.25 per cent.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the projected Gross Domestic Product growth rate will be 9.5 per cent for the current fiscal year.

Strong Jobs data in the US

Strong US jobs data and record service-sector growth underscored the recovery from the pandemic. The Institute for Supply Management said its services survey rose to a record 64 per cent in May from 62.7 per cent in April. Also Thursday, IHS Markit said its final US services purchasing managers index reading came in at 70.4 in May, it is the highest level since data began in 2009. Private-sector employment in the US jumped by 978,000 in May, according to the ADP National Economic Report. Further, weekly data on applications for unemployment benefits also painted a positive picture for the labour market in the US. First-time claims for benefits fell to 385,000 last week.