Market gives thumbs-up to RBI rate status quo, closes up

Mumbai, Oct. 4 (PTI):Stocks ended in positive territory today after the Reserve Bank decided to hold rates, underpinned by gains in banking, realty and auto shares, amid continuous capital inflows by domestic institutional investors.
A strengthening rupee, which hit 65.03 against the dollar during the day, pepped up mood.
The BSE Sensex ended up 174.33 points, or 0.55 per cent, at 31,671.71. The gauge had gained 337.57 points in the previous three sessions.
The NSE Nifty followed suit and regained the key 9,900-mark to hit a high of 9,938.30 before closing up 55.40 points, or 0.56%, at 9,914.90.
The RBI in its fourth bi-monthly review of the current fiscal kept the repo rate unchanged at 6 per cent. The reverse repo has been kept at 5.75%.
Traders said the RBI’s decision to keep key the interest rate unchanged was largely in line with investor expectations.
Investor sentiment got a boost after eight core sectors grew to a five-month high of 4.9% in August, helped by robust performance of coal, natural gas and electricity.