Sensex up 144pts, Nifty nears 17,600 as RBI pauses hike; realty stocks jump

Stock market highlights: Equity markets turned volatile on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent during its bi-monthly policy meeting. This was against Markets' expectations of a 25-basis point hike. The dovish decision lifted investors' spirits marginally as governor Shaktikanta Das said the move was only "a pause and not a pivot". 
 

Given this, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex swung 430 points during the day, before ending 144 points, or 0.24 per cent, higher at 59,833. The Nifty50, too, settled near 17,600-mark at 17,599, up 42 points or 0.24 per cent.

The broader markets, meanwhile, outran the frontline indices with 0.7 per cent gain each on the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices.

Among sectors, rate-sensitive Realty index surged nearly 3 per cent, followed by the Nifty Auto index (up 0.9 per cent), and the Nifty PSU Bank index (up 0.33 per cent). The Nifty IT index, however, capped gains as it fell 0.75 per cent.

Trading strategies for rate sensitive stocks

The RBI's decision has the power to trigger up to 15 per cent rally in rate sensitive stocks.