Sensex, Nifty rebound amid cautious optimism ahead of RBI meet

Benchmark stock market indices rebounded to close higher on Monday after having opened in red. The market rebound was led by gains in IT, real estate and FMCG sector stocks.
The S&P BSE Sensex gained 445.29 points to close at 80,248.08, while the NSE Nifty50 was up 144.95 points to end at 24,276.05.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said that despite a slump in the Q2 growth rate, the market maintained a positive bias as the core sector output in October shows signs of recovery.
“Slowing earnings growth is already factored in the market and mid & small caps are rebounding. However, investors stay marginally cautious ahead of RBI policy this week due to the risk of a cut in GDP forecast. The current inflation dynamics are not favourable for a rate cut in the short-term and the RBI is likely to turn more realistic on its growth projection for FY25,” he added.
In today’s trading session, the gainers were led by UltraTech Cement, surging 3.82%, followed by Apollo Hospitals which gained 3.45%. Grasim advanced 3.06%, while Shriram Finance saw an increase of 2.56%. JSW Steel rounded off the top gainers with a 2.53% rise.
On the losing side, HDFC Life faced the steepest fall, declining 2.67%, while NTPC slipped 1.46%. Cipla dropped 1.36%, and Hindustan Unilever fell 0.69%.
“Despite earlier concerns over disappointing GDP data, Q2 FY25 GDP grew by 5.4% vs forecast of 6.8% and 6.7% in Q1 FY25 and ongoing foreign institutional investor selling, market sentiment improved significantly throughout the day. The broader market also showed resilience, with mid and small-cap indices outperforming their larger counterparts,” said Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst, Bonanza.
The banking and financial services sectors showed some strength, with Nifty Bank gaining 0.10% and Nifty Financial Services rising 0.26%. Nifty Financial Services 25/50 also moved up by 0.21%. However, Nifty FMCG faced a decline of 0.05%.
In the other sectors, Nifty Auto advanced 0.99%, Nifty IT gained 0.93%, and Nifty Media climbed 1.02%. Nifty Metal posted a solid increase of 1.10%, while Nifty Pharma rose 0.94%. Nifty Private Bank saw a modest gain of 0.20%.
On the positive side, Nifty Realty demonstrated the strongest performance, surging 3.04%. Nifty Healthcare Index also showed resilience, moving up by 1.30%. Nifty Consumer Durables gained 2.08%, and Nifty Oil & Gas edged higher by 0.31%. Nifty Midsmall Healthcare rounded out the gains with a 1.41% increase.
“The index’s resilience amid weak macro data is promising, signalling the potential for further recovery. A decisive break above 24,350 could pave the way for levels beyond 24,700. While contributions are coming from various sectors, IT and banking are likely to remain key drivers, warranting close monitoring. A selective approach focusing on fundamentally strong stocks is recommended for broader indices,” said, Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.