Indian equity benchmarks ended mostly higher on Friday
after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the key interest rate to curb stubbornly high inflation and defend the rupee. Continuous foreign fund inflows
into the capital markets and softening crude oil prices also helped the bourses
regain momentum, traders said.

The Sensex ended 89.13 points or 0.15% higher at 58,387.93
after facing volatility during the fag-end of trade. During the day, it climbed
350.39 points or 0.60% to 58,649.19. The broader NSE Nifty gained 15.50 points or 0.09% to
settle at 17,397.50.

Also Read | RBI monetary policy committee meet: Key highlights

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das
announced that the Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to hike the
benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 5.4% with immediate effect.
It is now back to the pre-pandemic levels and the highest since 2019.

 The Standing Deposit
Facility (SDF) rate is adjusted to 5.15%. The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF)
and bank rate are revised at 5.65%.

Also Read | Explained: Difference between RBI’s accommodative, neutral & hawkish stance

“The 50 bps rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India
today is broadly in line with the consensus expectations,” said Sujan
Hajra – Chief Economist and Executive Director, Anand Rathi Shares & Stock
Brokers.

The broader indices ended in green with the BSE Midcap
index up by 0.09%, while the Small cap index was up by 0.23%. The top gaining
sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.34%, Basic Materials up by
0.89%, TECK up by 0.82%, IT up by 0.72%, and Bankex up by 0.47%, while
Utilities down by 1.86%, Power down by 1.59%, Auto down by 1.12%, Consumer
Durables down by 0.84% and Consumer Disc down by 0.45% were the top losing
indices on BSE.

Also Read | FDI inflows have improved to $13.6 billion in Q1FY23: RBI Governor

Top gainers from the Sensex pack were UltraTech Cement
2.86%, ICICI Bank up by 2.26%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.30%, Power Grid Corp up by
1.20%, Infosys up by 1.06%, Wipro up by 1.02%, Axis Bank by 0.90%, NTPC up
0.71%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.60% and up by ITC up by 0.42%.

Among the losers were Mahindra down by 2.04%, Maruti Suzuki
down by 1.50%, Reliance down by 1.46%, IndusInd Bank down by 1.06%, Bajaj
Finserv down by 0.59%, SBI down by 0.42%, Tata Steel down by 0.32% and HDFC
down by 0.28%.

Also Read | Explained: Impact of RBI’s repo rate hike on deposits, loans

In Asia, markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Seoul
settled in the green.

European indexes were trading lower during mid-session
deals. The US stock markets had ended on a mixed note on Thursday.

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark went higher by
0.18% to $94.29 per barrel.

 Also Read | Why interest rates are being hiked globally?

According to the stock exchange data, foreign institutional
investors remained net buyers in the capital markets as they bought shares
worth Rs 1,474.77 crore on Thursday.