Indian Stock Markets Snap Eight-Day Losing Streak on RBI's Lending Norms Relaxation
Indian stock markets snapped their eight-day losing streak today, with both the Sensex and Nifty 50 indices posting their highest single-session gains since August 2025. The rally was led by financial stocks, boosted by relaxed acquisition lending norms announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The Sensex surged by 715.69 points or 0.89 per cent to close at 80,983.31, while the Nifty 50 increased by 225.20 points or 0.92 per cent to end at 24,836.30. This performance was a stark contrast to the recent trend, where the indices had been declining for eight consecutive sessions.
The market breadth was strongly positive, with 2,797 stocks advancing, 1,360 declining, and 134 remaining unchanged. Among the Sensex firms, Tata Motors, Shriram Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Trent, Axis Bank, and Adani Enterprises led the gainers. On the other hand, Bajaj Finance, SBI, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, and Bajaj Auto dipped the most.
The RBI's announcement of relaxed norms for acquisition-related lending was a significant driver of today's rally. The new rules allow for reduced risk weights on infrastructure loans and enhanced lending capacities, which boosted financial stocks. The Bank Nifty soared over 1 per cent on this optimism.
The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) maintained a neutral policy stance and kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.50 per cent. Despite this, the markets responded positively to the relaxed lending norms, indicating investors' confidence in the potential growth opportunities. The smallcap index also outperformed the midcap, with a little over 1 per cent increase. As the markets head into a holiday tomorrow, investors will be watching for further developments and potential impacts on the ongoing rally.
