D-Street Buzz: Rate sensitive stocks in focus as RBI keeps interest rates unchanged; banks, realty slip, auto holds gains

Stocks

The Indian stock market has slipped in the red as The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) MPC kept repo rate unchanged at 4 percent unanimously with an accommodative stance.

MPC voted unanimously to leave the repo rate unchanged at 4 percent. MPC also voted unanimously to keep stance accommodative. Reverse repo rate hiked to ensure liquidity. RBI to restore liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) corridor to 50  bps, as it was pre-Covid. MSF Rate and Bank Rate remain unchanged at 4.25%, said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.

At 10:22 hours, Sensex was down 106.89 points or 0.18% at 58928.06, and the Nifty down 20.70 points or 0.12% at 17618.80.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das unveiled the first monetary policy of the new financial year on April 8, after a two-day review amid concern over inflation that is quickening on the back of higher crude oil and other commodity prices.

This week’s monetary policy announcement is seen as the most crucial since the one announced by RBI in March 2020 when COVID-19 was reaching Indian shores after sparking worldwide concern over its impact on global growth.

Catch all the market action on our live blog

The rate-sensitive sectors including banks, auto and realty managed to stay in the green ahead of the RBI policy adding up to half a percent each.

However, after the policy announcement, S&P BSE Bankex came under pressure. Bandhan Bank jumped 3 percent following block deals of around 49.7 million shares registered n the early trade. Shares of Bandhan Bank Ltd recorded a series of block deals on Friday with around 49.7 million shares or 3 percent stake in the bank changing hands in bunched trades, Bloomberg reported.

The other gainers included Federal Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, IndusInd Bank and Bank of Baroda which added 0.5-1 percent each.

On the other hand, the auto index was trading flat with the top gainers being TVS Motor, Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors while Escorts, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp are under pressure and are trading in the red.

From the realty space, Prestige Estates added 2 percent while Brigade Enterprises, Lodha Estates, Phoenix Mills and Sobha are also trading in the positive territory. Oberoi Realty, Indiabulls Real Estate, Godrej Properties and DLF on the other hand are under pressure.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.?

Download your money calendar for 2022-23 here and keep your dates with your moneybox, investments, taxes