FINAL TRADE: Sensex sheds 724 pts, Nifty gives up 21,750 dragged by financial stocks after RBI status quo

Stock market today: Domestic equity benchmarks Nifty50 and Sensex suffered sharp losses on Thursday, amid selling pressure in a majority of rate-sensitive stocks, after the RBI kept its key lending rate as well as policy stance on hold, as widely expected by economists.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, kept the repo rate, or the key interest rate at which it lends short-term funds to commercial banks, unchanged at 6.5 per cent and maintained its stance at "withdrawal of accommodation".

Both headline indices ended with losses of around one per cent. The Nifty index shed 212.6 points for the day to settle at 21,718 and the Sensex closed at 71,428.4, down 723.6 points from its previous close. The high-beta Nifty Bank witnessed a major cut after the RBI announcements, finishing the day 806.5 points, or 1.8 per cent, lower at 45,012.

At the end of the day, the Nifty Consumer Durables was down 0.6 per cent, the Nifty Bank down 1.8 per cent, the Nifty Financial Services down 1.9 per cent, the Nifty Realty down 0.7 per cent, and the Nifty Auto down 1.3 per cent. 

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Britannia, Axis Bank, Nestle India and Eicher Motors were the worst hit among the 34 laggards in the Nifty basket, down around three per cent. On the other hand, State Bank of India (SBI), BPCL, Power Grid, Coal India and Hindalco were among the top gainers, rising around 4-2 per cent. 

"Though FY25 GDP growth forecast has improved, the RBI remains vigilant on inflation and banking liquidity. The incomplete transmission of the cumulative 250 bps and the inflation ruling above the target level adds uncertainty about the timing of the interest rate reduction," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"The ripple effect was seen in the government 10  year yield, which inched higher. A large pocket of the market slid into red like FMCG, banks, and auto. FMCG got higher impacted by weak Q3 result and downgrade in volume growth, in the near-term, due to weak rural demand," he said.

What market wizard Anil Singhvi said

Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi said the RBI's announcements appeared slightly negative from the perspective of the banking space.

Global markets

European shares began the day on a muted note, as losses in shipping giant Maersk and drug maker Astrazeneca following dour results partially countered strong performances by consumer staples including Unilever.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was barely in the green at the last count. 

The futures contracts of the three main Wall Street benchmarks, the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, were down 0.1-0.2 per cent, suggesting a muted start ahead in the US on Friday. 

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