Indian stock markets edged slightly lower on Friday following the Reserve Bank of India's decision to cut key interest rates for the first time in almost five years. This move aims to bolster an economy anticipated to see its slowest growth in four years.
With Sanjay Malhotra at the helm as the newly appointed Governor, the Monetary Policy Committee decided to lower the policy repo rate by 25 basis points, bringing it down to 6.25 percent from 6.50 percent—a cut widely anticipated by market participants. This marks the first such reduction since May 2020.
The key index, the 30-share BSE Sensex, declined by 197.97 points, or 0.25 percent, closing at 77,860.19. Meanwhile, the broader NSE Nifty index decreased by 43.40 points, or 0.18 percent, finishing at 23,559.95.
In terms of market performance, the BSE mid-cap index managed a slight increase of 0.1 percent, whereas the small-cap index experienced a decline of 0.7 percent.
Market sentiment was more negative, with 2,397 shares falling compared to 1,524 advancing, and 143 shares remaining unchanged.
Among individual stocks, TCS, Adani Ports, Britannia Industries, SBI, and ITC witnessed declines of 1-2 percent. In contrast, Trent, JSW Steel, Bharti Airtel, ITC Hotels, and Tata Steel saw gains ranging from 3-4 percent.
Ola Electric saw a 2.4 percent drop as its Q3 losses widened year-over-year.
Aadhar Housing Finance gained 1.8 percent following robust Q3 results.
Shares of Hyundai Motor India surged by 3.6 percent amidst heavy trading volumes.
