Sensex up 144 points, Nifty nears 17,600 as RBI pauses hike; realty stocks jump

Equity markets turned volatile on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent during its bi-monthly policy meeting. This was against Markets’ expectations of a 25-basis point hike. The dovish decision lifted investors’ spirits marginally as governor Shaktikanta Das said the move was only “a pause and not a pivot”.

Given this, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex swung 430 points during the day, before ending 144 points, or 0.24 per cent, higher at 59,833. The Nifty50, too, settled near 17,600-mark at 17,599, up 42 points or 0.24 per cent.

The broader markets, meanwhile, outran the frontline indices with 0.7 per cent gain each on the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices.

Among sectors, rate-sensitive Realty index surged nearly 3 per cent, followed by the Nifty Auto index (up 0.9 per cent), and the Nifty PSU Bank index (up 0.33 per cent). The Nifty IT index, however, capped gains as it fell 0.75 per cent.

Anupam Rasayan hits record high; zooms 58% in 2 mths on strong business outlook. Last month, the company signed LoI worth revenue of $120 million (Rs 984 crore) for the next 6 years with a Japanese Chemical company.

TTK Healthcare hit a 5-year high on delisting plans as the stock zoomed 70% in 14 days. The board of directors is scheduled to meet on April 20, 2023 to consider the proposal for voluntary delisting of the equity shares of the company.

Avenue Supermarts shed 4% on profit booking post Q4 business update. The firm reported 20 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in standalone revenue from operations to Rs 10,337 crore for the quarter ended March (Q4FY23).

Here are some picks from the week gone by.