Nifty at fresh record high around at 21,000, Sensex up by 280 pts as RBI maintains repo rate

Another day, another new peak for the stock markets! The markets opened on a strong note on Friday morning with the Nifty reaching a new high above the 21,000 mark, and the Sensex surging by 300 points. This rise followed the Reserve Bank of India's consistent decision to maintain key rates for 5th consecutive time. The broader indices showed a predominantly green start. Notably, the Nifty 50 achieved the 21,000 milestone, just 61 sessions after hitting the 20,000 mark in September.

Repo rate unchanged

The RBI kept the key repo rate unchanged at 6.50% for the 5th time in a row. However, the withdrawal of accommodation stance was maintained. The rate increase cycle was paused in April after six consecutive rate hikes, aggregating to 250 basis points since May 2022.

Also read/watch - RBI Monetary Policy December 2023: Repo rate left unchanged at 6.5% for the fifth time

Announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent.

He said the MPC will remain "actively disinflationary". According to him, the growth projection has been raised to 7 per cent for the current financial year from 6.5 per cent earlier.

The central bank projected the Consumer Price-based Inflation (CPI) based retail inflation at 5.4 per cent for the current fiscal. The MPC meeting took place against the backdrop of inflation declining to 4.87 per cent in October. The November print of inflation is expected to be released next week.