Sensex zooms 809 points before MPC announcement

Mumbai, Dec 5: Frontline equity indices ended in green amid volatile sessions on Thursday as buying was seen in the heavyweights IT counters.

At closing, Sensex settled at 81,765, up by 809.53 points, or 1 per cent, while the Nifty ended at 24,708.40, up by 240.95 points, or 0.98 per cent.

Investors' optimism regarding the upcoming RBI interest rate decision is being seen as a major reason for this rally in the stock market.

The RBI monetary policy meeting (MPC) started on December 4 and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will announce the MPC decisions on December 6.

Intraday, Sensex touched 82,317 on the higher side and 80,467 on the lower side.

As per the market experts, the market experienced a sharp recovery from the day's low, closing with strong gains. A positive turnaround from FIIs for the past couple of days to India in expectation of a dovish monetary policy by the RBI supported the sentiment., they added.

Despite rising volatility in broader market indices, investors' confidence led the index to trade in the positive zone.

Nifty Midcap 100 index ended at 58,441.55, higher by 329.15 points, or 0.57 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap 100 ended at 19,333.55, higher by 160 points, or 0.83 per cent.

On the sectoral front, IT, auto, financial services, pharma, FMCG, metal, media, energy, and private banks closed in green. PSU Bank and realty sectors ended in the red.

In the Sensex pack TCS, Titan, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, and ICICI Bank were the top gainers. NTPC, Asian Paints, and IndusInd Bank were the top losers.

On the rupee, Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities said: "The rupee traded sideways to positive, closing near 84.70, gaining by 0.06 p, supported by strength in the secondary market as indices held gains of nearly 1 per cent."

"Market participants anticipate tomorrow's RBI policy, which will be the last of this calendar year, to provide some positive cues. While a rate cut is unlikely, any indication of a future rate cut or a reduction in the CRR to boost liquidity could provide significant support to both the markets and the rupee," he added.