INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Overall market breadth was positive as 1,390 shares ended higher.The S-P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 index gained for fourth day in a row
after the Reserve Bank of India kept its key lending rate unchanged at 5.15 per cent in a bid to keep inflation in check which has run up to
its highest levels in more than five years, but retained its accommodative monetary policy stance as growth remains lacklustre
The benchmarks opened higher but turned flat on caution among investors ahead of the monetary policy decision but soon rebounded on the back
of buying interest in rate sensitive shares after the policy decision.The Sensex ended 163 points or 0.4 per cent to close at 41,306 and the
Nifty 50 index advanced 49 points or 0.4 per cent to close at 12,138.All six members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted in favour of
maintaining the status quo on policy.The RBI said the economy continues to be weak and the output gap remains negative, projecting a gross
domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6 per cent for the next financial year starting April 1 and retaining the estimate for the current
financial year at 5 per cent.In a bid to increase lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as the auto and home
segments segment, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday tweaked maintenance of cash reserve ratio (CRR) norms by providing relaxation
in calculation of total deposits.The move will encourage lending towards these targeted sectors having multiplier effect by banks as they
will get exemption in CRR over incremental lending
This exemption window is available till July 2020.Eight of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by the
Nifty PSU Bank index's 2.6 per cent gain
Rate sensitive financial services, bank and private bank indexes also rose nearly 1 per cent after the central bank tweaked liquidity
guidelines.On the other hand, Nifty FMCG index was top loser, down 0.6 per cent.Mid- and small-cap shares also witnessed buying interest as
the Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.7 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.5 per cent.Eicher Motors was top gainer in the Nifty 50
basket of shares, the stock rose 5.4 per cent to close at Rs 20,530 after the Royal Enfield bike maker said that its profit declined
marginally to Rs 489 crore in December quarter.IndusInd Bank, Zee Entertainment, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, GAIL India, Yes Bank, JSW
Steel and Hero MotoCorp were also among the gainers.On the flipside, Tata Motors, Cipla, Titan, Infosys, ITC, Bharat Petroleum and Hindalco
were amog the losers.The overall market breadth was positive as 1,390 shares ended higher while 1,056 closed lower on the BSE.
