Stock market today: The Sensex and Nifty, India's benchmark equity indices, closed lower on Wednesday despite early gains, as late selling in major index constituents like Reliance Industries, ITC, and HDFC Bank offset the positive sentiment from the RBI's monetary policy review.
The Sensex fell 167.71 points or 0.21 per cent to close at 81,467.1, while the Nifty dropped 31.20 points or 0.12 per cent to end at 24,981.95.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained its key interest rate but shifted its policy stance from relatively hawkish to 'neutral', signaling a potential rate cut in the future. The monetary policy committee, comprising three RBI officials and three new external members, voted five-to-one to keep the repo rate at 6.5 per cent for the tenth consecutive policy meeting.
Among the Sensex companies, ITC, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, and HDFC Bank were the major laggards. In contrast, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, State Bank of India, Maruti Suzuki India, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, commented, "An upward revision in Q3FY25 inflation reiterates that the sticky inflation continues to remain a concern for the RBI and led investors to book profit towards the close. The volatility in input prices and the impact on margin dragged the FMCG stocks."
He added that while the RBI's stance change to neutral was favorable and expected, the commentary does not indicate a near-term rate cut.
In global markets, European markets were trading higher in mid-session deals, while Asian markets had a mixed closing, with Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Seoul settling in negative territory and Tokyo quoting in the positive territory.
The global oil benchmark, Brent Crude, climbed 0.87 per cent to USD 77.85 a barrel in futures trade. US markets ended with gains in overnight deals on Tuesday.
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Read MoreThe TOI Business Desk is a vigilant and dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant business news from around the world to readers of The Times of India. The primary focus of the TOI Business Desk is to keep a watchful eye on the global business landscape, covering a wide spectrum of industries, markets, economic trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact businesses and economies. With a mission to provide valuable insights and updates, the desk ensures that TOI readers are well-informed about the ever-changing and dynamic world of commerce and can navigate the complexities of the business world.
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