RBI Hits the Bull's Eye: Stocks Surge 1%
Equities surged about 1% Friday as the Reserve Bank of India 's bigger-than-expected cut in the key policy rate and the surprise move to ease liquidity came as an impetus to a market starved of fresh triggers. Shares of lenders, real estate developers and automobile makers led the rise, with the Nifty Bank index hitting a record on expectations that the central bank's measures will ease pressure on their profitability and boost lending.The BSE Sensex rose 746.95 points to end at 82,188. The NSE Nifty 50 advanced 252.15 points to close at 25,003. 'The most important point is that monetary policy is supportive of growth and growth is good for equities,' said Ramesh Mantri, CIO, WhiteOak Capital AMC.The rally on Friday helped the Sensex and Nifty post nearly 1% gains for the week and snap their two-week losing streak. Continuation of the trend will depend on the Nifty crossing a key hurdle at 25,120-25,200, beyond which it could advance to 25,500, say market watchers. Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Bank and Nifty Auto rose 1.5% each, while the Nifty Realty shot up by about 5%.'The frontloading of rate cuts augurs well for finance companies, real estate, auto and banking,' said Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental equity research, SBI Securities.'This (frontloading of rate cuts) will have a lag effect on NII (net interest income) and immediate impact of boost in treasury income and also on urban consumption,' said Agrawal.The greater-than-expected interest rate cut of 50 basis points and the liquidity dose were positive surprises. But the central bank's policy stance shift to 'neutral' from 'accommodative' and governor Sanjay Malhotra's remark that monetary policy is left with 'very limited space' to support growth may keep the optimism in check.Valuations are reasonable, except for 'narrative-driven' sectors, said Mirae Asset Investment Managers CIO Neelesh Surana, while warning investors to moderate their expectation of returns from equity. 'New investors could consider hybrid funds and avoid thematic funds,' said Surana.The broader market also ended higher, with the Nifty Midcap 150 rising nearly 1% and the Nifty Smallcap 250 up 0.6%. Of the 4,156 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,278 advanced, while 1,744 declined.The Volatility Index, or VIX, the market's fear measure, declined 3% to 14.3, in line with the market rise, suggesting traders do not see risks of sharp moves in the near term.Among Asian markets, sentiment remained tepid. Chinese and Hong Kong equities ended slightly lower after a call between US and Chinese leaders failed to show progress on trade. The Shanghai Composite was flat, and the Hang Seng slipped 0.5%.At home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers, purchasing shares worth Rs 1,010 crore on Friday. So far in June, they have been sellers to the tune of about ₹7,700 crore. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth ₹9,342 crore on Friday Fund managers said the fall in interest rates could make equities more popular than fixed income.'The competition for interest rates is equities but as we see debt yields are falling, equities are likely to become more attractive,' said Mantri.
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