Closing Bell: RBI raises rates to combat inflation, Sensex and Nifty plunge

On Wednesday, the domestic equity barometers fell and ended near the day's low. Nifty fell below 16,700 points.

On Wednesday, the domestic equity barometers fell and ended near the day's low. Nifty fell below 16,700 points. The stocks have dropped across the board. Following Reserve Bank of India's surprise rate hike announcement, the bourses witnessed a significant sell-off today (RBI). Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) agreed unanimously to raise the policy repo rate by 40 basis points to 4.40 per cent. The cash reserve ratio (CRR) was also hiked by 50 basis points to 4.50 per cent by the central bank. "CRR hike might suck liquidity out of the banking industry to the tune of Rs 83,711.55 crore," the Governor stated.  

BSE Sensex closed on the red side on the third day, losing by 1,306 points to end at 55,669 levels. Sensex Midcap index also plunged 638 points to end the day at 23,665 levels while BSE Smallcap index tumbled 599 points to close at 27,762 levels. The top stocks on BSE Sensex today were Power Grid Corporation of India, NTPC, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. However, the stocks that witnessed a price fall include Titan, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Induslnd Bank, and HDFC Bank.  

Nifty 50 fell by 391 points to close at 16,677 levels. Similarly, Bank Nifty ended with a loss of 899 points and closed the day at 35,264 levels. The top gaining stocks were ONGC, Britannia, Power Grid Corporation of India, NTPC, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. The stocks losing the most were Apollo Hospitals, Adani Ports, Hindalco Industries, Titan, and Bajaj Finance.  

The total stocks traded today were 3,475, out of which, 864 advanced and 2,508 stocks declined. There were 103 stocks that were unchanged. The number of stocks that were locked in the upper circuit was 173 while 315 stocks got locked in their lower circuits today. Around 103 stocks made a new 52-week high today while 48 stocks hit a fresh 52-week low.