NIFTY50 trades above 22,400 level, SENSEX down 300 points after RBI rate cut decision; check details

Indian equity benchmarks were trading in red on Wednesday, following the cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain concerned about rising tensions between the U.S. and China amid the new reciprocal tariffs on imports in to the US. The indices recovered a bit from its day's low after China urged for dialogues with US to resolve trade dispute.

Apart from the negative global cues, RBI monetary policy action remained a major trigger for the market in the early trading session.

At 1:20 PM, SENSEX was trading at 73,880.25 level, declining 346.83 points, or 0.47%, while NSE NIFTY50 was down 122.20 points, or 0.54%, at 22,413.65 levels.

Amid the worsening tariff woes, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to slash the repo rate by 25 bps to 6%. Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF rate, under the liquidity adjustment facility, shall stand adjusted to 5.75%, and the marginal standing facility rate of the MSF rate, and the bank rate shall stand adjusted to 6.25%. It also decides to change its stance from neutral to accommodative.

FY26 real GDP growth projection cut to 6.50% from 6.70% with Q1 at 6.5%, Q2 at 6.7%, Q3 at 6.6%, and Q4 at 6.3%. The growth projections have been revised downwards due to policy, trade uncertainties. FY26 CPI inflation seen at 4% v/s 4.2% forecasted in February, with Q1 at 3.6%, Q2 at 3.9%, Q3 at 3.8% and Q4 at 4.4%.

Following the RBI’s policy action, rate-sensitive sectors showed mixed reactions amid high external pressures. The FMCG and Auto stocks remained top sectoral gainers with NIFTY FMCG and Auto index rising 1.6% and 0.24% higher at 11:00 am. On the other hand, NIFTY PSU Bank, Realty, Private Bank and consumer durables fell in the range of 1- 2.2%.

Among the NIFTY FMCG index, shares of Emami, Nestle India, Godrej Consumer Products, Hindustan Unilever and Britannia gained more than 2%. Auto stocks like M&M, TVS Motors, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki gained in the range of 0.6% to 1.7%.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73,853.37, down by 383 points or 0.52%, after trading in a range of 73673.06 and 74103.83. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.03%, while Small cap index was down by 1.28%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.47%, Auto up by 0.27% and Utilities up by 0.17%, while IT down by 2.15%, Metal down by 1.71%, TECK down by 1.58%, Realty down by 1.32% and Oil & Gas down by 1.27% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The NIFTY50 is currently trading at 22385.85, down by 150.00 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 22357.00 and 22467.85. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.