Sensex Rises 300 Points, Nifty Near 23,490 as RBI Holds Repo Rate Steady

RBI Rate Pause Lifts Markets; Sensex Gains Nearly 300 Points, Nifty Nears 23,500

Indian benchmark indices traded higher on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left key policy rates unchanged and retained its neutral stance, a move that largely matched market expectations and provided support to investor sentiment.

At around 10:10 am, the BSE Sensex was up 294 points, or 0.40 per cent, at 74,654.48, while the NSE Nifty50 advanced 77.65 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 23,494.20.

RBI Maintains Status Quo

The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), led by Governor Sanjay Malhotra, unanimously voted to keep the benchmark repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent during its June 2026 policy review.

The central bank also retained its “neutral” policy stance, signalling that future decisions will remain data-dependent and guided by evolving inflation and growth trends.

The announcement was largely anticipated by market participants, helping equities extend their gains during morning trade.

Financial Stocks Lead the Rally

Banking and financial stocks emerged as the biggest gainers following the policy decision, as investors welcomed the continuity in monetary policy.

The Nifty Financial Services index rose 1.20 per cent, while Nifty Financial Services 25/50 gained 1.24 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank climbed 1.42 per cent and Nifty Bank advanced 0.69 per cent to 54,683.40. Nifty Private Bank also traded higher, gaining 0.39 per cent.

Among the benchmark constituents, Bajaj Finance led the gains with a jump of 3.53 per cent. Bajaj Finserv rose 1.47 per cent, State Bank of India gained 1.22 per cent, Adani Ports added 0.95 per cent and Hindustan Unilever advanced 0.92 per cent.

Realty, Media Shares Outperform

Rate-sensitive sectors also witnessed strong buying interest after the RBI refrained from making any policy changes.

Nifty Realty gained 1.34 per cent, while Nifty Media surged 2.90 per cent to emerge as the best-performing sectoral index. Nifty Consumer Durables rose 0.71 per cent and Nifty Chemicals added 0.65 per cent.

The broader market also remained firm, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index climbing 0.56 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.44 per cent.

IT and Metal Stocks Lag

Despite the broader market strength, technology and metal counters underperformed.

Nifty IT slipped marginally by 0.02 per cent after opening in positive territory, while Nifty Metal declined 0.57 per cent, making it the weakest-performing sector during the session.

Among individual stocks, Trent fell 1.49 per cent, Tata Steel declined 1.40 per cent, HCLTech slipped 0.63 per cent and Bharti Airtel lost 0.31 per cent.

Investors Eye RBI Commentary

Market volatility remained subdued despite the closely watched policy announcement. The India VIX, often referred to as the market’s fear gauge, fell 1.19 per cent to 15.70, indicating reduced nervousness among investors.

With the policy decision now out of the way, market participants will closely monitor Governor Sanjay Malhotra’s comments on inflation, economic growth and the RBI’s future policy outlook for further direction.