The equity benchmark indices snapped their two-day gaining streak on Wednesday , with the Sensex falling 429 points to 72,639 and the Nifty declining 173 points to 22,603, as the Reserve Bank of India’s 25-basis-point rate hike and cautious commentary weighed on the market.
The Nifty slipped back below the 22,700 mark, while the Nifty Bank fell 73 points to 55,056 and the Nifty Midcap index declined 379 points to 59,383. The rupee also weakened against the dollar, slipping to a five-month low of ₹96.78 per dollar. RBI rate hike weighs on NBFCs, small finance banksNBFCs and small finance banks slipped after the RBI rate hike, with AU Small Finance Bank and Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company among the top losers.
At the same time, housing finance stocks and PSU banks gained, with Bank of Maharashtra and LIC Housing Finance among the top gainers. Rupee hits five-month lowThe rupee weakened against the dollar and slipped to a five-month low of ₹96.78 per dollar.
Metal stocks remain weakMetal stocks remained under pressure as the dollar index rose, with Hindalco Industries and JSW Steel among the top losers. Higher crude weighs on paint, airline stocksHigher crude kept paint and airline stocks under pressure.
Asian Paints fell 2%. Kotak Mahindra Bank continued to see buying and ended 2% higher as the top Nifty gainer. Capital market stocks also closed higher, with BSE and Angel One gaining 2% each. Kalyan Jewellers rose 4% after the company reported a healthy Q2 update.
Overall, 41 Nifty stocks closed in the red, with stocks falling as much as 4%. Market breadth favoured declines, with the advance-decline ratio at 2:3. Titan Company Ltd, Hindalco Industries Ltd, Shriram Finance Ltd, JSW Steel Ltd, Asian Paints Ltd and Infosys Ltd were the biggest laggards.