RBI's inflation outlook, policy stand fail to soothe markets

The Indian stock markets tumbled nearly 1% on Thursday following the Reserve Bank of India's decision to keep rates unchanged for the sixth time in a row, signalling its reluctance to lower interest rates anytime soon.

- Ram Sahgal

Despite the RBI's projection of a drop in average retail price inflation to 4.5% for FY25 from 5.4% for FY24, the RBI governor's indication that the target of 4% has yet to be achieved spooked rate-sensitive sectors such as banks and fast-moving consumer goods, dragging the benchmarks down.

The Nifty slipped 0.97% to 21717.95, marginally above the 20-day simple moving average of 21,691.57, while the Sensex fell 1% to 71,428.43. The Bank Nifty index fell 1.76% to 45,012, close to its 200-day moving average of 44,877.62, while the Nifty FMCG index cracked 2.06% to 53646.20. India's benchmark 10-year bond yield settled a tad higher at 7.08%.