Benchmark indices trade in red, dragged by bank sector stocks after RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent.
BSE Sensex was down by 472.66 pts or 0.66 per cent at 71,679.34 as of 12.45 pm, and Nifty 50 was down by 132.40 pts or 0.6 per cent to trade at 21,798.10
As of 12.23 pm, Nifty Private Bank fell 1.52 per cent at 22,935.85, Nifty FMCG by 1.57 per cent at 53,912, Nifty Bank slipped by 0.86 per cent at 45,424, and Nifty Financial Services stock down by 1.04 per cent at 20,222.25. However, Nifty PSU Bank gained 2.67 per cent, at 6,923.65.
Power Grid (5.56%), SBI (4.15%), BPCL (3.72%), Hindalco (2.42%), and Coal India (1.82%) were major gainers on the NSE, while Britannia (-3.41%), Tata Consumers (-3.17%), Nestle India (-2.71%), Axis Bank (-2.55%), and ICICI Bank (-2.26%) were major laggards.
Of the 3,861 stocks that were traded on Thursday as of 12.30 pm, 1,736 stocks advanced, 2,006 declined, and 119 were unchanged. The number of stocks that had hit a 52-week high was 483, and those that hit a 52-week low were 15.
On the NSE, stocks that hit a 52-week high include TRF, General Insurance Corporation, State Bank of India, JSW Energy, Star Cement, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation.