Broader markets remained positive with financial stocks leading gains, while the RBI also announced measures to attract foreign capital and stabilise currency flows.
Markets were trading in positive territory at midday on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India held the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent and maintained its neutral policy stance, a decision that was broadly in line with market expectations. The Sensex was up 150.54 points, or 0.20 per cent, at 74,510.55 as of 12.25 pm, while the Nifty50 gained 33.90 points, or 0.14 per cent, to trade at 23,450.45. On the BSE, 4,150 stocks were advancing against 2,263 declines, with 215 stocks hitting 52-week highs and 48 touching 52-week lows.MPC raises inflation forecast, trims growth outlook amid global risksThe RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee, in a unanimous decision, revised its FY27 CPI inflation forecast upward by approximately 50 basis points to 5.1 per cent, while trimming its real GDP growth projection to 6.6 per cent from 6.9 per cent earlier. “MPC highlighted the increasing uncertainties on a global scale stemming from the extended conflict in West Asia, volatility in energy prices, disruptions to the supply of goods and a weakening of the rupee,” said Dr. Ravi Singh, Chief Research Officer at Master Capital Services. The central bank also flagged the direct impact of the recent retail fuel price hike at around 36 basis points on headline inflation, with second-order effects expected to feed through CPI in the coming months.RBI rolls out capital flow measures to attract foreign investment, support rupeeThe policy also included a set of capital account measures aimed at attracting foreign flows. The RBI expanded the Fully Accessible Route to cover new issuances of 15, 30, and 40-year government securities, removed FPI concentration limits, and introduced a PSU ECB swap window and extended FCNR(B) hedging support. The Centre simultaneously issued an ordinance exempting FPIs from capital gains tax and interest income on government bond investments. “This policy is best read as a balance of payments package with a rate decision attached,” said Anindya Banerjee, Head of Commodity and Currency Research at Kotak Securities. “These measures can aid the rupee’s appreciation over the near term, provided oil prices stay below $100 a barrel. We see scope for the rupee to appreciate towards 94 to 94.5 on spot, with the upside in USDINR now capped around the 96 mark.” The USD/INR pair was trading below ₹95.70, with immediate resistance at ₹95.75–₹95.80.Financial stocks lead gains; Bajaj Finance, Adani stocks outperformFinancial stocks led gains on the Nifty50. Bajaj Finance surged 2.80 per cent to ₹898.85 from its previous close of ₹874.40, on heavy volumes of nearly 1 crore shares worth ₹89,424.26 lakhs. Adani Enterprises rose 1.80 per cent to ₹3,026.20 from ₹2,972.80, while HDFC Life added 1.72 per cent to ₹583.60 from ₹573.75. Adani Ports climbed 1.68 per cent to ₹1,821.00 from ₹1,790.90, and SBI Life gained 1.67 per cent to ₹1,794.40 from ₹1,764.90.Wipro, metal stocks drag; IT and commodities see pressureOn the losing side, Wipro remained the heaviest drag, falling 4.11 per cent to ₹195.93 from its previous close of ₹204.32, with over 2.89 crore shares worth ₹56,475.68 lakhs traded — the highest turnover among losers. Hindalco declined 2.28 per cent to ₹1,099.90 from ₹1,125.60, and Tata Steel fell 2.18 per cent to ₹205.99 from ₹210.57 on volumes worth ₹37,506.32 lakhs. Trent dropped 1.77 per cent to ₹2,787.50 from ₹2,837.60, and Coal India shed 1.57 per cent to ₹474.10 from ₹481.65.Gold, crude and indices trade in tight ranges amid technical resistance zonesIn commodities, COMEX Gold was trading near the $4,460–$4,480 zone after facing resistance around $4,500, while MCX Gold opened with a gap-down and was holding above the ₹1,58,300–₹1,58,000 support zone. MCX Crude Oil opened gap-up, trading within the ₹8,900–₹8,950 band with immediate resistance at ₹8,970–₹9,000. US Oil was holding above the $93 zone, with MACD signalling continued bearish weakness on the daily timeframe. The Nifty50 faces immediate resistance at 23,550, while Bank Nifty, which opened near 54,393, briefly crossed its resistance zone of 54,400–54,500 before stabilising, with the next resistance band seen at 54,800–55,000. RBI’s foreign exchange reserves stand at $682 billion, which Kotak’s Banerjee noted gives the central bank “ample ammunition to manage volatility while these flows gain traction.”Published on June 5, 2026
