Markets traded in a narrow range during Wednesday’s afternoon session, with the Sensex down 36.99 points at 80,673.26 and the Nifty declining 32.35 points to 24,617.20 as of 1:22 pm. The indices remained close to their opening levels as investors assessed the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy decision and continued concerns over US trade policies.
The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee maintained the repo rate at 5.5 per cent and retained its neutral policy stance, a decision widely anticipated by market participants. Governor Sanjay Malhotra expressed confidence in India’s growth outlook while flagging concerns about uneven economic expansion and potential retail inflation risks. The central bank revised its FY26 CPI forecast to 3.7 per cent from 4 per cent, following retail inflation dropping to a six-year low of 2.1 per cent in June.
Asian Paints led the Nifty gainers with a 2.64 per cent jump to ₹2,501.10, followed by HDFC Life which rose 1.84 per cent to ₹752.10. Trent advanced 1.37 per cent to ₹5,390.50, while Bharat Electronics gained 0.98 per cent to ₹390.45 and Titan increased 0.90 per cent to ₹3,448.90.
On the downside, Wipro declined 1.56 per cent to ₹242.08, continuing the weakness in IT stocks observed since morning. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories fell 1.50 per cent to ₹1,196.60, while Bajaj Finance dropped 1.41 per cent to ₹879.30. Jio Financial Services declined 1.38 per cent to ₹328.25 and Nestle India decreased 1.35 per cent to ₹2,236.70.
Broader market indices underperformed benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 falling 0.63 per cent to 56,841.40 and the Nifty Next 50 declining 0.66 per cent to 66,323.65. The Nifty Bank index managed marginal gains of 0.15 per cent to 55,442.75, while the Nifty Financial Services index remained flat with a 0.02 per cent increase to 26,378.35.
Market breadth remained negative with 2,636 stocks declining against 1,274 advances on the BSE. A total of 98 stocks hit 52-week highs while 116 touched 52-week lows. Additionally, 191 stocks were locked in upper circuits compared to 233 in lower circuits.
Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart, termed the RBI policy decision a non-event for markets, noting that focus would now shift to US tariff impacts, upcoming US economic data, and foreign institutional investor flows. The cautious policy approach reflects concerns over global trade uncertainties, particularly the US’s 25 per cent tariffs on Indian exports announced by President Trump.
Binod Kumar, MD & CEO of Indian Bank, welcomed the status quo decision while noting that it leaves room for reconsideration in coming months as CPI remains benign and growth may require support.
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Published on August 6, 2025