The domestic equity benchmarks clawed back a portion of the previous session's losses in a choppy trade on February 6 as confidence returned after the central bank's policy verdict met expectations. The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee unanimously held the repo rate steady at 5.25% and maintained a neutral stance, helping steady investor nerves. Indices opened on a soft note amid weak Asian cues but staged a firm mid-session rebound, with aggressive buying in the final hour propelling indices to close near the day's highs. The Nifty reclaimed ground above the 25,650 mark, powered by strong gains in FMCG, consumer durables and private banking stocks.

The S&P BSE Sensex added 266.47 points or 0.32% to 83,580.40. The Nifty 50 index rose 50.90 points or 0.20% to 25,693.70.

ITC (up 5.21%), Bajaj Finance (up 1.79%) and Bharti Airtel (up 1.54%) supported the Nifty today.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 0.11% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index tanked 0.42%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,925 shares rose and 2,263 shares fell. A total of 183 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.86% to 11.94.

RBI MPC:

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held its first monetary policy review of the calendar year 2026. RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25%. Headline inflation during November and December remained below the tolerance band of the inflation target.

The revised outlook for CPI inflation in Q1 and Q2 of next year, at 4% and 4.2%, respectively, is revised slightly upwards, said RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra. The Indian economy continues on a steady, improving trajectory, with real GDP poised to register significant higher growth of 7.4% this year, as compared to the previous year, amidst global headwinds, the governor noted. Going forward, economic activity is expected to hold up well in the next year, he added.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper added 1.58% to 6.756 compared with previous session close of 6.651.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.6700 compared with its close of 90.3400 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement rose 0.50% to Rs 152,830.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.17% to 97.80.

The United States 10-year bond yield dropped 0.40% to 4.191.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement rose 46 cents or 0.68% to $68.01 a barrel.

Global market:

The US Dow Jones index futures are currently up by 144 points, signaling a strong opening for US stocks today.

European shares advanced while Asian indices ended lower on Friday, following the tech-driven sell-off on Wall Street.

South Korea's market, which is heavily weighted in favor of companies in the chip and automotive industries, has seen sharp swings in the past week as sentiment over tech stocks sours.

Pharmaceutical stocks in Japan also slumped on Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his website offering discounted prescription medicines.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.20% to close at 48,908.72, while the S&P 500 lost 1.23% declined to 6,798.40, pushing it into negative territory for the year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite posted the biggest decline, tumbling 1.59% to end at 22,540.59.

Tech giant Alphabet came under pressure after reporting fourth-quarter results and flagging a sharp rise in artificial intelligence spending, with capital expenditure totaling $185 billion for 2026.

Qualcomm slid more than 8% after posting a weaker forecast because of a global memory shortage.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Shares of cigarette makers surged on bargain buying, with ITC jumping 5.21% and Godfrey Phillips India rallying 9.69%. A domestic brokerage said the worst appears to be behind for cigarette stocks, citing sharp price hikes that underline strong pricing power. The brokerage expects companies to roll out two to three staggered price increases over the coming months to offset the impact of higher taxes. Separately, an international brokerage noted that cigarette stocks are in a heavily sold zone and now offer comfort on valuations.

Hitachi Energy India surged 14.30% after the company's standalone net profit soared 90.29% to Rs 261.42 crore on 27.71% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 2021.31 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles declined 1.14% after the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 3,486 crore in Q3 FY26 compared with a net profit of Rs 5,406 crore in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations fell 25.81% YoY to Rs 69,605 crore during the quarter.

FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa) jumped 7.28% after the company's consolidated net profit climbed surged 142.38% to Rs 63.31 crore on a 26.73% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 2873.26 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.

Bharti Airtel rose 2.32%. The company reported a 55.14% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 6,630.5 crore, despite a 19.62% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 53,981.6 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.

Data Patterns (India) rallied 7.78% after the company's standalone net profit jumped 30.54% to Rs 58.30 crore on a 47.92% surge in revenue from operations to Rs 173.13 crore in Q3 FY26, compared with Q3 FY25.

BEML dropped 7.59% after the company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 22.38 crore in Q3 FY26 compared with net profit of Rs 24.41 crore posted in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations climbed 23.69% YoY to Rs 1083.27 crore during the quarter.

Kriti Industries (India) rose 1.57% after the company's consolidated net loss narrowed sharply to Rs 0.47 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 10.89 crore in Q3 FY25. Net sales declined 35.3% YoY to Rs 135.79 crore during the quarter.

Pitti Engineering declined 4.12% after the company's consolidated net profit fell 29.61% QoQ to Rs 28.22 crore despite a flat 0.06% decline in net sales to Rs 477.42 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q2 FY26. On a year-on-year basis, the company's net profit fell by 1.9%, despite a 15% increase in net sales in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.

NCC added 3.03% after the company reported 36.60% drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 122.46 crore in Q3 FY26, compared to Rs 193.18 crore recorded in Q3 FY25. Revenue from operations fell 8.91% YoY to Rs 4,868.29 crore during the third quarter of FY26.

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