Indian share markets extended gains as the session progressed and ended on a strong note.

The Sensex crossed 45,000-mark for the first time, as the RBI upgraded its GDP target for the current fiscal year and kept interest rates steady in the face of stubbornly high inflation.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 447 points (up 1%).

The NSE Nifty closed higher by 125 points (up 1%).

ICICI Bank and UltraTech Cement were among the top gainers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 13,329, up by 138 points, at the time of writing.

Both, the BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended up by 0.4%.

On the sectoral front, gains were largely seen in the banking sector, FMCG sector, and telecom sector.

Market participants were tracking travel-related stocks today. IRCTC share price zoomed 15% as covid vaccine-related optimism continued to boost travel-related stocks. Meanwhile, InterGlobe Aviation and SpiceJet also surged in the range of 5-10%.

Asian stock markets ended higher today. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng ended up by 0.4% and the Shanghai Composite ended up 0.1%. The Nikkei ended down by 0.2%.

US stock futures are trading higher today indicating a positive opening for Wall Street indices. Nasdaq Futures are trading up by 48 points (up 0.4%), while Dow Futures are trading up by 157 points (up 0.5%).

The rupee is trading at 73.79 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 49,344 per 10 grams.

Here are Top 5 Factors Why Indian Stock Markets Rallied Today

Firm Global Cues: Global stock markets were buoyed today amid positive macroeconomic data flow from China, US stimulus negotiations, and developments on the Covid-19 vaccine front.

Vaccine News: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said India's vaccination program against Covid-19 would begin as soon as a go-ahead from scientists is given, and asserted that healthcare workers involved in treating coronavirus patients, frontline workers and old people suffering from serious conditions would be inoculated on priority.

In his closing remarks at an all-party meeting with leaders of various political parties to discuss the pandemic situation, Modi said experts believe the wait for the vaccine will not be long and it may be ready in a few weeks.

Bluechips Continue Momentum: Indian share market ended at record highs as bluechip stocks including Asian Paints, Mahindra and Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Titan, and UltraTech Cement hit their fresh 52-week highs.

Revised Growth Prospects: The RBI revised its forecast of economic growth for the current fiscal year (2020-21) to minus 7.5% compared to its earlier forecast of minus 9.5%.

Banking Stocks Rally: the Nifty Bank index rose 2.3% to cross the 30,000-mark. Banking stocks gained after RBI announced to keep system liquidity in surplus.

We will keep you updated on how these factors develop in the coming days and what effect they have on Indian stock markets. Stay tuned!

Speaking of stock markets, the past month was a staggering one. Benchmark indices saw huge buying interest and went on to touch record-high levels.

The BSE smallcap index was up 13% in November.

The BSE smallcap index has risen more than 10% in a month only 6 times in the last decade.

Foreign investors (FIIs) invested a net amount of around Rs 650 bn in November. This is the biggest purchase by FIIs by a big margin so far.

In the latest developments from the IPO space, the initial public offering (IPO) of quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain Burger King India continued to get a strong response.

At the time of writing, the public issue was subscribed 139 times. The issue has received bids for 10,380 million equity shares against an offer size of 74.4 million shares, data available on the exchanges showed.

The portion set aside for retail investors has been subscribed 66 times, while the portion set aside for qualified institutional buyers and non-institutional investors has been subscribed 67.3 times and 331 times, respectively.

In news from the banking sector, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained benchmark rates at the same levels of 4% in its policy meet today. The reverse repo rate stays at 3.35%.

Today's was the third meeting on a run that the central bank chose to keep the rates unchanged.

Shares of interest rate-sensitive sectors, mainly financials, and automobiles, were trading firm after the RBI's decision to keep interest rates unchanged.

The RBI maintained the status quo on the benchmark lending rates in view of persistently high inflation and a lower-than-expected contraction of the economy.

Here are the key highlights of today's monetary policy:

The RBI revised its forecast of economic growth for the current fiscal year (2020-21) to minus 7.5% compared to its earlier forecast of minus 9.5%. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said the change in the forecast has been prompted by a surge in demand in both rural as well as urban areas.

The second half of the fiscal year is expected to show positive growth despite disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, he added.

Das said that retail inflation is seen at 6.8% in the third quarter, at 5.8% for Q4FY21, and 5.2-4.6% in H1 FY22.

RTGS system to be made 24X7 in the next few days. From January onwards, the limit for contactless card transactions will be upped from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per transaction.

Regarding NBFCs, Das said a regulatory framework review is needed. Das also committed to doing whatever is required to maintain the stability of the financial sector. Near-term stability issued has been handled, he added.

Note that the central bank has slashed the repo rate by 115 basis points since late March to cushion the shock from the Covid-19 crisis and sweeping lockdowns across the country to check its spread.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Axis Bank was among the top buzzing stocks today.

The government sold some of the Specified Undertaking of The Unit Trust of India's (SUUTI) stake in private lender Axis Bank last week, data released on BSE showed.

SUUTI offloaded 36,25,075 shares of Axis Bank between November 26-27, bringing its stake in the lender down to 4.12% from 4.24% earlier.

The transaction, carried out without a formal announcement, came to light only this week. Market players said the government should pursue the same strategy for selling shares in listed PSUs.

Note that earlier this year in May, the government had decided to sell the remaining stake in companies held under SUUTI.

It had expected to raise around Rs 220 billion by selling its then 7.93% and 4.6% stake in ITC and Axis Bank, respectively.

Axis Bank's share price ended the day up by 2.2%.

Speaking of the banking sector, note that the sector was one of the worst affected sectors in the Indian stock market when Covid-19 struck.

Banking stocks were severely punished. No investor wanted to touch them even with a 10-ft pole.

However, sentiment has changed now as investors are chasing banking stocks like never before.

Have a look at the monthly returns of major sectors for the month of March and October 2020 in the chart below:

Banks were among major losers with a cut of 34% in the month of March. Cut to October, they are the biggest gainers for the month with more than 11% returns!

We are closely tracking this sector and will keep you updated on all the top news from this space. Stay tuned.