Sensex, Nifty end at fresh peaks post RBI policy; log stellar weekly gains

Mumbai: Extending its winning run for the fifth session, equity benchmark Sensex finished at a fresh lifetime peak on Friday after the Reserve Bank kept interest rates unchanged but continued its accommodative stance and announced fresh liquidity measures to revive growth.

The 30-share BSE benchmark briefly crossed the 51,000-level, before ending 117.34 points or 0.23 per cent higher at its fresh closing record of 50,731.63.

Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty scaled the 15,000 mark during the day but shed some ground to close at its all-time high of 14,924.25, up 28.60 points or 0.19 per cent.

SBI was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 10.69 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, Dr Reddy's, UltraTech Cement, ITC and HDFC Bank.

On the other hand, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Maruti and HCL Tech were among the laggards, tumbling up to 3.30 per cent.

Earlier in the day, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept interest rates on hold while assuring to maintain support for reflating the economy by ensuring ample liquidity to manage the government's near-record borrowing.

The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to continue with the accommodative stance as long as necessary to revive growth and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy while ensuring that inflation remains within the target, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.95 per cent higher at $59.56 per barrel. The rupee gained 3 paise to settle at 72.93 against the

US dollar.