Sensex, Nifty Slip Further As Markets Shrug Off RBI’s Repo Rate Cut Decision

Indian stock markets continued to trade in the red on Wednesday, showing little reaction to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points earlier in the day.

Despite the rate cut aimed at boosting economic growth, investor sentiment remained cautious amid global uncertainties and weak market cues.

Stock Market Today

At 11:40 am, the BSE Sensex was down 350.85 points or 0.47% at 73,876.23, after opening at 74,103.83 and hitting an intraday low of 73,673.06. The index had closed at 74,227.08 in the previous session.

The NSE Nifty also declined by 113.55 points or 0.50%, trading at 22,422.30.

Banking stocks were under pressure too. The Nifty Bank index slipped 0.86% to 50,078.60, while Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank fell 1.84% and 0.71%, respectively.

Also Read: RBI Cuts Repo Rate By 25 BPS, Lowers Growth Forecast Amid Trump Tariffs

Top Bank Stocks Performance

Banking stocks traded mostly lower on Wednesday, with both public and private sector lenders facing selling pressure. Among major private banks, HDFC Bank slipped 0.54% to Rs 1,759.55, ICICI Bank fell 0.63% to Rs 1,291.05, and Axis Bank declined 1.32% to Rs 1,063.25. Kotak Mahindra Bank edged up slightly by 0.15% to Rs 2,057.50, while IndusInd Bank was also marginally up by 0.10% at Rs 679.90. IDFC First Bank was a notable gainer, rising 1.87% to Rs 58.98.

Public sector banks also witnessed broad weakness. State Bank of India (SBI) declined 1.87% to Rs 754.00, Bank of Baroda fell 1.63% to Rs 231.95, Canara Bank slipped 0.62% to Rs 88.80, and Punjab National Bank (PNB) was down 0.83% at Rs 96.12.

RBI Cuts Repo Rate

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a 25 basis points cut in the short-term lending rate (repo rate), bringing it down to 6.00%. This decision was revealed on Wednesday as RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra presented the first bi-monthly monetary policy of the current financial year.

Apart from this, the RBI now expects the economy to grow by 6.5% in Q1, 6.7% in Q2, 6.6% in Q3, and 6.3% in Q4 of fiscal year 2026. These are slightly lower than its earlier estimates of 6.7% for Q1, 7% for Q2, 6.5% for Q3, and 6.5% for Q4.