BSE Rises After RBI Decision but Points to Weekly Decline

The BSE Sensex rose 303 points, or 0.4%, to 85,569 in morning trade on Friday, extending gains from the previous session following the RBI’s 25-bps cut in key repo rates and revised GDP and inflation forecasts.

The central bank raised its GDP growth forecast for FY2025/26 to 7.3%, up from a previous estimate of 6.8%, while revising headline inflation down to 2.0% from 2.6%, keeping it well within the 2%–6% target range.

Expectations of the Fed’s interest rate cuts next week also boosted sentiment.

The Nifty 50 climbed 0.4% to above 26,100.

Most sectors traded in the green, led by technology, which rose 1.2%, followed by financial services, autos, and banking stocks.

Top gainers included Bajaj Finance (2.0%), Infosys (1.7%), HCL Tech (1.4%), Bajaj Finserv (1.3%), and TCS (1.1%).

However, the index is set for a 0.2% weekly decline, which would be its first in four weeks.