Markets cheer rate cut; close higher

Commentary

oi-Sunil

By Sunil Fernandes

Published: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 15:40 [IST]

Markets today gave a thumbs-up to the RBI repo rate cut, surging after the RBI eased its monetary stance. The BSE Sensex closed the day higher by 206 points at 17357 points, while the Nifty closed the day higher points by 63.50 points at 5289 points.

Global markets too were trading higher which boosted sentiments further. The FTSE, DAX and CAC were all trading higher.

Sentiments were boosted when the RBI surprised the markets by cutting repo rates by 50 basis points against the consensus estimates of 25 basis points. Lower interest rates are expected to propel corporate profitability and spur investments.

Banking stocks exhibited a mixed trend today with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India gaining, while Bank of Baroda and UCO bank lost ground.

Among the other gainers in trade today were the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group stocks that included Reliance Communications and Reliance Infrastructure.

Among the losers were Cairn India, HCL Tech, Kotak Mahindra and Mahindra and Mahindra.

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