Nifty closes flat after RBI keeps repo rate unchanged

The Nifty recovered from intraday lower levels to close flat on Friday after the RBI kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent for the seventh consecutive time, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

At close on Friday, the Nifty was down 1 point at 22,513.70, while the Sensex was up 20.59 points or 0.03 per cent at 74,248.22.

The majority of the sectors ended in green with buying being seen in realty, banking & financials, he said.

The RBI at its bimonthly meeting on Friday maintained a ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ stance in line with market expectations. The committee maintained the GDP rate at 7 per cent for FY25, while projecting retail inflation of 4.5 per cent.

Next week, the focus will shift to the Q4 earnings season as TCS will announce its results on April 12. Also, the markets will take cues from global events like India and US inflation data, US Fed meeting minutes, and ECB policy meetings.

On Monday, the markets would react to US non-farm payroll data and unemployment rate, Khemla said.

“Overall we expect the market to consolidate in a broader range with stock-specific action”, he added.