Equity benchmarks closed slightly higher on Friday after the Reserve Bank raised key interest rates to cool stubbornly high inflation and defend the rupee. Traders said that continued foreign inflows into capital markets and weaker crude oil prices also helped stocks regain momentum.

After facing volatility in late trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed up 89.13 points, or 0.15%, at 58,387.93. It was up 350.39 points, or 0.60%, at 58,649.19 on the day. The broader NSE Nifty was up 15.50 points, or 0.09%, at 17,397.50.
The Reserve Bank raised its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 5.40% on Friday, the third straight hike since May.

With the latest rate hike, the rate at which banks borrow on repo or short-term loans has surpassed pre-pandemic levels of 5.15%.

Sujan Hajra, chief economist and executive director of Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers, said: “The RBI’s 50bps rate hike today is broadly in line with market consensus.”

Among the constituent stocks of Sensex, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, Infosys, Wipro and Axis Bank were the major winners. In Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong closed in the green. European stocks were lower in intraday trade. US markets closed mixed on Thursday.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent rose 0.18% to $94.29 a barrel. Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 1,474.77 crore on Thursday, remaining net buyers in capital markets, exchange data showed.