Profit Taking Snaps 2-Day Rally Ahead Of MPC Decision

The benchmark indices experienced a moderate decline as investors awaited the RBI’s decision on a potential rate cut amidst the ongoing trade war. The broader market remained cautious and in a consolidation phase despite the government’s focus on boosting consumption to cushion lower growth, Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty slid for the second consecutive day on Thursday amid caution ahead of the RBI’s monetary policy decision and fresh foreign fund outflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 213.12 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 78,058.16 due to profit-taking in blue-chip shares such as Bharti Airtel, ITC and SBI. The index opened higher but slipped into the red in morning deals due to selling by investors. During the day, it tumbled 427.29 points or 0.54 per cent to 77,843.99. The NSE Nifty declined 92.95 points or 0.39 per cent to 23,603.35 with 30 of its constituents closing lower.

Among Sensex scrips, Bharti Airtel fell by 2.47 per cent to emerge as the biggest loser. Airtel after the market hours reported a five-fold jump in profit for the third quarter of 2024-25. Titan, NTPC, State Bank of India, ITC, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors were the major laggards. Adani Ports, Infosys, Axis Bank, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday started deliberations on the monetary policy and the decision will be announced on Friday. “The benchmark indices experienced a moderate decline as investors awaited the RBI’s decision on a potential rate cut amidst the ongoing trade war. The broader market remained cautious and in a consolidation phase despite the government’s focus on boosting consumption to cushion lower growth,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE midcap gauge declined 0.87 per cent, while smallcap index ended flat down 2.18 points. “Despite logging sharp gains in the first few minutes of opening trade, markets slipped into the red and moved in a narrow range with a negative bias for most part of the trading session. Investors booked profits in rate-sensitive shares like realty and auto ahead of monetary policy announcement tomorrow,” added Prashanth Tapse, senior V-P (research), Mehta Equities Ltd.