Indian shares closed higher on Friday, a day after the central bank lowered interest rates by 25 basis points and changed its stance to "accommodative." The broader NSE index ended up 0.2% at 11,870.65, while the benchmark BSE index closed 0.2% higher at 39,615.90. Both the indexes were buoyed by IT stocks and financials, with the Nifty IT index ending up 0.6%.
Housing Development Finance Ltd and IndusInd Bank gained 1% and 1.94%, respectively. Among losers, Dewan Housing Finance Ltd fell 11.3%. India's central bank on Thursday changed its policy stance to "accommodative," from "neutral" after latest data showed that the economy grew at its slowest in over four years.
"The expectation was how the RBI will tackle NBFC space; they have not spelled out any preventive measures. So, we are seeing a sell-off," said Deven Choksey, founder, KR Choksey Investment Managers. "Markets will remain rangebound until the budget and we may see a correction around then." The government is expected to launch a fresh wave of economic reforms to unlock growth in the budget due next month. The steps are anticipated after the unemployment rate rose to a multi-year-high of 6.1% in the 2017/18 fiscal year.
The Nifty Pharma index inched over 2% lower and was headed for its third straight session of decline. The Nifty public sector bank index retreated from losses seen in the previous session, but was down 0.13%, while the private bank index index edged 0.6% lower.
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