<p><strong>Business News Live:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Hello and welcome to ABP Live’s Business LIVE blog. Please follow this space for all the breaking news and latest updates from the Stock Market, economy, and the corporate world.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the last trading session on Friday, the two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, closed in the green after lacklustre trade amid volatility. The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 167 points to end at 71,595. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled at 21,783, up 65 points.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) concluded its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting this week, chaired by Governor Shaktikanta Das. The Governor announced on Thursday that the banking regulator has opted to maintain the status duo on policy rates. The decision remianed in line with market experts’ anticipations. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As such, the repo rate remained unchanged at 6.5 per cent for the sixth consecutive time. Das revealed that the standing deposit facility (SDF) stood at 6.25 per cent. The regulator estimated the GDP for the upcoming 2024-25 fiscal year at 7 per cent, marginally lower than the 7.3 per cent growth seen in the current fiscal year. The estimate for average retail inflation stood at 5.4 per cent for FY24, while the projection for the FY25 was at 4.5 per cent. The next meeting of the MPC is set from April 3-5, 2024. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On Friday, Airtel Payments Bank announced that the bank registered a massive rise in new customer volume, availing bank account opening services and opting for facilities like FASTag recently. It didn’t clearly specify if the increase in customer base could be attributed to the latest ban imposed on the Paytm Payments Bank by the RBI. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Among the major earnings for the third quarter expected today include Reliance Communications, TVS Electronics, Updater Services, and Yatharth Hospital and Trauma Care Services Ltd, among others.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Further, in the coming week, Coal India, GE Power India, NHPC, Steel Authority of India, Zee Media Corporation, Bosch, Coffee Day Enterprises, Hindalco Industries, and Senco Gold are scheduled to release their earnings in the week.</span></p>
