Rate-Sensitive Stocks Ended Lower After RBI Kept Repo Rate Unchanged

The interest rate sensitive stocks edged lower after the RBI kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.15 per cent and lowered FY20 real GDP growth estimate to 5 per cent from 6.1 per cent. 

The BSE Auto index shed 115 points or 0.4% at 17,810 and the BSE Bankex weakened by 275 points or 0.7 per cent at 36,147. In the auto space, Tata Motors lost 1.9% at Rs 166, Hero Motocorp lost 1.7% at Rs 2,396, M&M weakened by 0.3% at Rs 524 and Maruti Suzuki shed 0.9% at Rs 7,005. In the banking space, SBI weakened by 1.6% at Rs 336, Axis Bank lost 1.3 per cent at Rs 729, ICICI Bank shed by 0.2 per cent at Rs 528 and HDFC Bank lost 0.5 per cent at Rs 1,245. 

The Sensex ended 71 points or 0.2 per cent lower at 40,780 and Nifty 50 index declined 25 points or 0.2 per cent to settle at 12,018.

The meeting of the six-member Monetary Policy Committee led by Governor Shaktikanta Das came amid deepening concerns about growth, financial stability and weak public finances.

India's GDP or gross domestic product expanded 4.5 per cent in the July-September period, marking the slowest pace of growth in six and a half years. Moreover, the headline inflation has crossed the RBI's 4 per cent medium-term target for the first time in more than a year, driven by a spike in food prices. Meanwhile, the government has maintained that the fundamentals of the economy remain strong, although many financial institutions have lowered their growth forecasts amid a broad-based slowdown.