In Brief
- The BSE Sensex dropped 264.97 points to 72,408.15, while the NSE Nifty fell 87.50 points to 22,507.65 in early Thursday morning trade.
- Market sentiment was impacted by the RBI’s shift from a neutral policy stance to "calibrated tightening," indicating near-term rate cuts are off the table.
- Persistently high crude oil prices hovering near $102 per barrel and continued foreign fund outflows further contributed to the market decline.
Indian equity markets opened lower on Thursday as investors adjusted to the Reserve Bank of India’s hawkish monetary policy shift. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 264.97 points to trade at 72,408.15, while the broader 50-share NSE Nifty fell 87.50 points to 22,507.65. The downturn was led by heavy selling in real estate, FMCG, and financial stocks, including major laggards such as ITC, Adani Ports, and Bajaj Finance.
The market decline follows the RBI Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to raise the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% and revise its policy stance to "calibrated tightening". Analysts noted that the prospect of prolonged monetary tightening, combined with elevated Brent crude oil prices trading above $102 per barrel and sustained net sales by foreign portfolio investors, created significant pressure on domestic risk appetite.
