Mumbai: The domestic stock market opened on a positive note on Thursday, supported by buying in Reliance Industries shares and softening crude oil prices. The BSE Sensex rose 201.43 points to 78,782.43 in early trade, while the NSE Nifty rose 16.35 points to 24,641.
Titan, Reliance Industries, Eternal, Bharat Electronics, State Bank of India and Asian Paints were the top gainers on the Sensex, while Power Grid, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra and Axis Bank were among the laggards.
In global markets, the price of international benchmark Brent crude fell 0.13 percent to $79.35 per barrel. In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei-225, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices were trading lower, while China’s SSE Composite was slightly higher. US stock markets also closed mostly lower on Wednesday.
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy also influenced market movements. For the fourth consecutive review, the RBI kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% and maintained a “neutral” policy stance. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra indicated that future interest rate decisions would be based on economic data.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 943.42 crore on Wednesday, netting ₹1.03 billion (approximately $1.9 billion). The Sensex had gained 152.05 points to close at 78,581, while the Nifty had gained 9.75 points to close at 24,624.65.