The Indian stock market turned into the green in Friday’s session on February 6 after a range-bound trade, supported by gains in FMCG and select private banking stocks, which helped offset losses in IT, pharma and auto shares.
The Nifty 50 closed 0.20% higher at 25,693, while the S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.32% higher at 83,580. Both benchmark indices finished the week on a strong note, extending their winning streak to a second consecutive week.
Broader markets, however, were mixed. The Nifty Midcap 100 closed flat, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 0.30%.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India kept policy interest rates unchanged. At its sixth and final bi-monthly monetary policy review for the current financial year, the central bank decided to retain the repo rate at 5.25% and maintained a neutral stance.
In terms of sector-wise performance, Nifty FMCG led the gainers with a 2.27% surge, while Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty Oil & Gas, and Nifty Realty also ended higher, posting gains of up to 1%.
On the downside, Nifty IT emerged as the worst performer, slipping 1.47%, while Nifty Pharma remained under pressure, declining another 0.72%. Nifty Auto and Nifty PSU Bank were also among the laggards, with both indices falling 0.52% each.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said, “Domestic equity markets traded largely subdued through most of the session before staging a late recovery, supported by selective buying in FMCG and private banking stocks. In contrast, the domestic IT sector continued to underperform.”
“The RBI’s policy announcement was broadly in line with expectations, maintaining status quo on interest rates while reiterating a constructive growth outlook. However, markets had anticipated a mildly dovish undertone, which failed to materialize as the RBI retained its neutral stance, resulting in an uptick in India’s 10-year bond yields,” he further added.
