Mint St pigeons keep him flying even if India can’t catch a flight

Indian stock indices rose more than half a percent after the Reserve Bank of India cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Friday and signaled more easing would come. The upside, helped by the measures, offset losses in the week caused by a weaker rupee and selling by foreign investors.Following the RBI’s announcement, the NSE Nifty ended at 26,186.45, up 0.6% or 152.70 points. The BSE Sensex ended at 85,712.37, up 0.5% or 447.05 points. Despite these gains, both indexes were largely unchanged this week, following gains in the previous three weeks.

“The market got a boost on the back of the RBI’s repo rate cut and also on the benign outlook that many were not expecting,” said Pranay Aggarwal, CEO of Stoxkart.The Nifty Midcap 150 index advanced 0.4%, while the Small-cap 250 index lost 0.5%. Of the 4,328 shares traded on the BSE, 1,740 advanced while 2,423 declined.

This week, the midcap index fell 0.8%, while the smallcap index fell 1.4%.

Aggarwal said the RBI’s clear growth support stance, favorable inflation outlook for FY26 and expectations of further liquidity measures have raised hopes of a year-end rally, but a weakening rupee and persistent global risks could limit sharp gains. Nifty Financial Services gained 1% and the Nifty IT Index ended 0.9% higher. Bank Nifty rose 0.8%, while Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank indices rose 1.5% and 0.5% respectively.

India’s Volatility Index, the market’s fear gauge, fell 4.6% to 10.32 on Friday, indicating subdued risk perception among traders.

There was a lot of writing in Friday’s session that pushed the index higher, said Vipin Kumar, AVP Equity Research & PMS at Globe Capital Market.

“Unless the index moves decisively above 26,300, no major gains are expected in the near term,” Kumar said. “Investors can buy on dips as downsides are likely to be limited to 25,800 levels.”

The markets hit new highs on November 27 after a fourteen-month hiatus, with the Sensex rising above 86,000 for the first time ever and the Nifty rising above 26,300. However, the momentum could not sustain this week.

“Any time markets reach record levels, valuations become a major talking point, and even small bouts of uncertainty (whether global data prints, geopolitical developments or currency movements) can cause participants to become somewhat risk averse,” Aggarwal said.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net ₹438.9 crore on Friday. Their domestic counterparts bought shares worth ₹4,189.17 crore. So far in December, global investors have sold shares worth ₹7,023.2 crore.

“While underlying sentiment remains constructive, some volatility cannot be ruled out as markets digest recent gains and await fresh impetus for the next directional move,” Aggarwal said.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea rose 1.8%, while China and Taiwan rose 0.7% each. Hong Kong ended 0.6% higher. Japan fell 1.1%.