Snapping their 4-day record-setting spree, Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened lower on Thursday led by selling in banking, auto, and IT stocks.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined over 150 points to trade below the 69,500 mark. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty50 slipped below the 20,900 level after making lifetime peaks this week.
FMCG and banking stocks were the prime laggards, while realty and pharma indices saw modest gains. Broader markets outperformed benchmarks, with Nifty Midcap 50 rising 0.4 percent.
After hitting their all-time highs earlier this week, analysts said investors seem to be booking profits at current levels ahead of the RBI’s key rate decision today.
The central bank is expected to maintain the status quo on policy rates but its outlook on growth and inflation will be closely tracked.
“There will be bouts of profit-booking at higher levels given the policy overhang,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
The Indian rupee also weakened mildly to 83.36 amid dollar demand from custodian banks ahead of the RBI policy statement.
In the previous session, markets had risen over 350 points to end at record closing highs on sustained foreign fund inflows of over 1 lakh crore this year so far.
