RBI monetary policy: Rate sensitive stocks show mixed trend as central bank cuts repo rate by 25 bps

Mumbai: Interest rate-sensitive banking, realty and auto stocks showed mixed trend on Thursday following the RBI’s rate-cut announcement. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Thursday cut repo rate by 0.25 percent for the second time in a row to bring interest rate to the lowest level in one year on softening inflation. Following the announcement, among the BSE auto pack, Exide Industries settled for the day with the maximum gains of 2.76 percent, followed by Tata Motors 2.49 percent, Hero MotoCorp 2.13 percent, Eicher Motor 1.65 percent, Apollo Tyres 1.32 percent, TVS Motor 0.72 percent, Bajaj Auto 0.62 percent, Maruti 0.57 percent, Bharat Forge 0.44 percent and Motherson Sumi 0.13 percent. Meanwhile, some stocks in BSE auto index also ended in the negative territory including Cummins India down 1.62 percent, Bosch Ltd 1 percent, M&M 0.55 percent, Ashok Leyland 0.46 percent and MRF 0.03 percent. [caption id=“attachment_4390401” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] The BSE auto index settled the day at 19,280.67, higher by 117.57 points or 0.61 percent. In the bankex, City Union Bank jumped the most with gains of 2.29 percent, followed by State Bank of India 0.33 percent and Axis Bank 0.10 percent. On the other hand, shares of Yes Bank fell the most, down 2.05 percent; followed by IndusInd Bank 1.86 percent, Kotak Mahindra Bank 1.08 percent, ICICI Bank 0.99 percent, Bank of Baroda 0.57 percent, HDFC Bank 0.48 percent and Federal Bank 0.47 percent. The BSE bankex closed for the day at 33,621.40, down 226.60 points or 0.67 percent. The BSE realty shares also depicted a mixed trend, with Godrej Properties Ltd rising the most by 2.56 percent, followed by Prestige Estates Projects 2.36 percent, Mahindra Lifespace Developers 1.66 percent and Sunteck Realty 0.97 percent. In contrast, Sobha Limited slumped the most by 1.29 percent, Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd 1.16 percent, DLF 0.50 percent, Omaxe Ltd 0.43 percent, Phoenix Mills Ltd 0.19 percent and Oberoi Realty Ltd 0.08 percent. The BSE realty index closed at 2,110.61, higher by 3.79 points or 0.18 percent. “It’s a much expected and welcoming decision from the RBI. The street was discounting the same and the industry and sectors were looking forward to it,” Mustafa Nadeem, CEO, Epic Research. Nadeem further said “over the short term, we believe this could trigger a short term correction. Currently, the market was discounting the rate cut and also on the hope of a decisive mandate in upcoming Lok Sabha 2019 elections”.