Absence of a rate cut and a lower GDP forecast from RBI saw benchmark indices eroding in excess of one per cent on Tuesday.
The Nifty closed at 5598, down 68 points while the Sensex closed at 18431 down 205 points. Though the benchmark indices opened in the green they slid and remained in the red throughout the trading session after RBI’s announcement.
"The 25bps CRR cut by RBI was in line with our expectation. The cut is likely to infuse about Rs 170 bn of liquidity into the system. We believe CRR cut is always better than repo rate cut from policy transmission perspective, as former reduces the cost of funds for the banks, which in turn can be passed on to end-borrowers,” said Dipen Shah, Head -PCG Research, Kotak Securities.
Rate Sensitive stocks belonging to banking, auto, capital goods, realty and infrastructure were hit the most.
Volatility was flat and the volatility index, India Vix closed at 15.17, up 0.3 per cent.
Maruti, Dr Reddy, IDFC, HUL and Infy were the top five Nifty gainers while Bank of Baroda, SBI, JP Associates, Tata Motors and PNB were the top five losers.