The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Wednesday decided to maintain the status quo on the repo rate at the current 6.5 per cent, while retaining India's real GDP growth forecast at 7.2 per cent for FY25.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that inflation for the third quarter (Q3) this fiscal is set to moderately increase to 4.8 per cent, saying that moderation in inflation is likely to remain slow and uneven.

"The inflation horse has been brought to the stable within the tolerance band. We have to be careful about opening the gate," he said during the MPC briefing.

The central bank decided to hold rates steady despite the US Federal Reserve's recent rate cut of 50 basis points. The RBI has changed the stance to 'neutral' from "withdrawal of accommodation".

Indian equity indices were trading higher on Wednesday before the monetary policy decision announcement from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

At 9.48 a.m., Sensex was up 251 points or 0.31 per cent at 81,873 and Nifty was up 81 points or 0.34 per cent at 25,097.

The market trend remains positive. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,855 shares were in the green and 396 shares were in the red.

In the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, SBI, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, TCS and Infosys were the top gainers. ITC, Nestle, Reliance, JSW Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC, HUL, L&T and ICICI Bank were the top losers.

After the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, the National Space Commission has cleared the fifth lunar mission -- the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission or Lupex.

The Lupex mission will explore the Moon for water and other resources. It is a collaborative effort between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

The mission is also part of India’s larger lunar roadmap that envisages sending an astronaut to the Moon and bringing him or her safely back.

Importantly, the Lupex mission could reportedly live for up to 100 days on the lunar surface -- over five times the duration of Chandrayaan-3’s mission life.

Indian equity benchmark closed on a positive note, on the back of election results which supported PSU stocks and brought optimism in the market.

At closing, Sensex was up 584 points or 0.72 per cent at 81,634 and Nifty was at 25,013, up 217 points or 0.88 per cent.

The market trend was positive in the session. On BSE, 3,020 shares closed in the green, 924 shares in the red and 101 shares closed without any change.

Due to sharp gain, the market cap of all companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) increased by about Rs 7 lakh crore to Rs 459 lakh crore, which was earlier Rs 452 lakh crore.

The total gross enrollments under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) have crossed 7 crore, with an enrolment of over 56 lakh in the current fiscal (FY25) to date, according to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on Tuesday.

APY is a guaranteed pension scheme by the government and regulated by PFRDA.

“The scheme is in its 10th year of rollout, and has achieved a big milestone,” said the authority.

Focused on unorganised sector workers, the pension scheme provides a guaranteed minimum pension of Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 per month based on contributions. The APY ensures a dignified life in old age for unorganised workers, addressing their financial insecurities and garnering their support.

The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has cleared the initial public offering (IPO) of India's largest depository, the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL).

The market watchdog issued an observation on Sept 30, for the company's public offering. In SEBI's parlance, obtaining the observation letter means its go-ahead to float the public issue.

The issue of the Mumbai-based securities depository will consist only of an offer for sale component.

According to a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed by NSDL on July 7, 2023, the depository will sell up to 5.72 crore shares through the issue of equity shares with a face value of Rs 2.

India equity indices were trading in the green on Tuesday with gains in shares of UltraTech Cement, NTPC and L&T in BSE's benchmark.

At 9.59 a.m., Sensex was up 258 points or 0.32 per cent at 81,308 and Nifty was up 58.20 points or 0.23 per cent at 24,853.

In the Sensex pack, UltraTech Cement, M&M, Axis Bank, HUL, SBI, L&D, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndusInd Bank were the top gainers.

Tata Steel, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Wipro, Titan, HCL Tech, Infosys, TCS, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki and Nestle were the top losers.

Indian frontline indices closed in the deep red on Monday as investors played cautious due to the Middle East conflict.

At closing, Sensex was down 638 points, or 0.78 per cent, at 81,050 and Nifty was down 218 points, or 0.87 per cent, at 24,795.

Due to the sharp fall, the market cap of all the companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) declined by Rs 9 lakh crore to Rs 452 lakh crore. The figure was at Rs 461 lakh crore in Friday's trading session.

In the Sensex pack, ITC, Bharti Airtel, M&M, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, TCS, and Tech Mahindra were the top gainers. NTPC, SBI, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Titan, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Reliance, JSW Steel, Nestle, L&T, HUL, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top losers.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to maintain the status quo in its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, said industry experts on Monday, as the much-anticipated three-day meeting began, led by Governor Shaktikanta Das, amid geo-political uncertainties.

The six-member committee began deliberations on interest rates and analysing the state of the economy amid tensions in the Middle East. The RBI Governor will announce the MPC decision on October 9.

Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India, said that growing geopolitical concerns, particularly in the Middle East, add to inflationary concerns that can emerge from its impact on crude prices.

Indian equity indices opened in the green on Monday following global cues from the US and Asian markets.

At 9.51 a.m., Sensex was up 193 points or 0.24 per cent at 81,882 and Nifty was up 36 points or 0.15 per cent at 25,051.

However, the market trend remained negative. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE) 1,737 shares were in the red and 658 shares in the green.

In the Sensex pack, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Wipro, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement, Nestle, Bajaj Finance, TCS, Infosys, Axis Bank and SBI were the top gainers. Titan, HDFC Bank, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid, HUL, Sun Pharma, L&T and Asian Paints were the top losers.