The stock market opened strongly on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, buoyed by a positive global outlook and expectations of an interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during its monetary policy committee meeting. In early trading, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark index, Sensex, jumped 190.47 points to reach 81,036.22 points. Similarly, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) saw its Nifty index start off with a gain of 31.60 points, opening at 24,488.75 points. On Tuesday, the BSE Sensex had closed up by 597.67 points or 0.74%, finishing at 80,845.75 points, while the Nifty rose by 166.00 points or 0.68%, closing at 24,442.05 points
Low Chances of Interest Rate Cut in MPC Meeting
The three-day meeting of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) began on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, for its bi-monthly monetary review. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das is expected to share insights on interest rates and inflation data on Friday, December 6, 2024. There are expectations that, given the rising inflation in the country, the RBI may keep the repo rate steady at 6.5% this December. However, there are also suggestions that the central bank might consider cutting interest rates in February 2025.
TCS and HDFC Life Shares in the Green
In the early trading session, out of the 30 companies listed on the BSE Sensex, 22 stocks were showing gains, while 8 stocks were in the red. From 2,443 stocks on the NSE, 1,811 were trading in the green, 577 in the red, and 55 showed no change. TCS shares rose by 1.67%, reaching 4,373.35 rupees, while HDFC Life Insurance shares jumped 2.10% to 647.30 rupees.
Mixed Trends in Asian Markets
In other Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225, South Korea’s Kospi, and China’s Shanghai Composite were experiencing some softness. In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trading higher. European and American markets had closed positively on Tuesday. In the global oil market, Brent crude oil strengthened by 0.16%, reaching 73.77 dollars per barrel.
