The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday left the repo rate unchanged at 6.50% following the conclusion of its three-day monetary policy meeting. This is the sixth consecutive time the central bank has left policy rates untouched and the longest pause in rates since 2008 in a rising interest rate environment.
The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex fell 34 points or 0.05% to settle at 72,152. The broader NSE Nifty rose 0.01% to end at 17,930. From the Sensex stocks, SBI was the top gainer, rising over 4%. JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, Nestle, Axis Bank, and Asian Paints also closed higher, while Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, Infosys, TCS, and HDFC Bank closed in the red.
The market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE declined by Rs 1.84 lakh crore to Rs 375.36 lakh crore. The highest weighted of the 13 major sectors — financial services — dropped 0.63%. Meanwhile, Nifty FMCG, IT, healthcare, consumer durables, and oil & gas also declined.
Sectorally, selling was seen in realty, public sector, metal, oil & gas, and energy space while some buying was seen in healthcare. Sharp selloff was also seen in the small & midcap spaces, which plunged nearly 3% each.
Nifty Financial Services dropped 1%, as HDFC Bank lost 3%, extending declines from its worst session in over three years on Wednesday. The IT index fell 0.6%, dragged by a 10.7% decline in LTIMindtree after it missed December-quarter profit estimates on weak demand and furloughs.