Sensex jumps 715 points, nifty gains 225 as RBI holds rates, ups growth forecast

Market benchmarks rebounded sharply on Wednesday after an eightsession losing streak with Sensex jumping 715 points propelled by bargain hunting in bank and financial stocks after the RBI left interest rates unchanged and revised upward its growth estimates to 68 per cent for the current fiscalBuoyancy across global equities and easing crude oil prices boosted the risk appetite of local investors triggering value buying across the sectors traders saidThe 30share BSE Sensex jumped 71569 points or 089 per cent to settle at 8098331 During the day it surged 80081 points or 099 per cent to 8106843As many as 2797 stocks advanced while 1360 declined and 134 remained unchanged on the BSEThe 50share NSE Nifty climbed 22520 points or 092 per cent to 2483630From the Sensex firms Tata Motors jumped the most by 554 per cent followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank Trent Sun Pharma Axis Bank and ICICI BankHowever Bajaj Finance State Bank of India UltraTech Cement and Tata Steel were among the laggardsThe equity market posted a broadbased rally today with the RBIs policy decision broadly in line with expectations but accompanied by a more constructive tone than in June which buoyed investor sentiment Its dovish stance alongside an upward revision of Indias GDP growth forecast from 65 per cent to 68 per cent reinforced confidence Vinod Nair Head of Research Geojit Investments Limited saidThe Reserve Bank of India expectedly left its key interest rates unchanged on Wednesday as it waited for greater clarity on the impact of US tariffs as well as transmission of earlier rate cuts and recent tax reductionsRBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra however signalled scope for easing in the coming months to support the economy from any possible hit from US tariffsThe sixmember monetary policy committee voted unanimously to keep the repurchase rate unchanged at 55 per cent and decided to continue with a neutral policy stance giving it flexibility to move in either direction if needed in futureMarkets rallied across the board on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of India lifted its FY26 GDP growth forecast to 68 per cent and trimmed inflation expectations to 26 per cent the lower bound of its target range The upbeat outlook on growth and price stability came as a timely reassurance for investors who had been jittery over the potential drag from steep US tariff hikesRBIs commentary helped restore confidence signalling resilience in Indias macro fundamentals despite global headwinds Ponmudi R CEO of Enrich Money an online trading and wealth tech firm saidThe central bank raised its growth forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2026 to 68 per cent from 65 per cent but the governor said the forwardlooking projections for Q3 OctoberDecember and beyond are expected to be slightly lower than projected earlier primarily due to traderelated headwinds despite being partially offset by the impetus provided by the rationalisation of GST ratesThe BSE smallcap gauge jumped 116 per cent and the midcap index climbed 091 per centAll sectoral indices ended higher Bankex climbed 144 per cent telecommunication 126 per cent financial services 122 per cent healthcare 113 per cent realty 111 per cent utilities 103 per cent and consumer discretionary 094 per centAdditional support for equities came from five targeted measures to ease lending including relaxed capital market exposure norms and enhanced infrastructure financing Gains were led by banking and consumer stocks while autos advanced on the back of healthy sales Overall the rebound reflects improving sentiment and hints at early signs of a potential shift in market direction Nair saidEquity markets will remain closed on Thursday for Dussehra and Mahatma Gandhi JayantiIn Asian markets South Koreas Kospi settled in positive territory while Japans Nikkei 225 index ended lower Markets in China were closed for the National Day holidayEquities in Europe were trading higher in midsession dealsUS markets ended higher on TuesdayForeign Institutional Investors FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 232709 crore on Tuesday while Domestic Institutional Investors DIIs bought equities worth Rs 576163 crore according to exchange dataGlobal oil benchmark Brent crude declined 095 per cent to USD 6540 a barrelIn the last eight trading days the BSE benchmark has tanked 274634 points or 330 per cent and the Nifty dropped 8125 points or 319 per cent