Sensex Falls 447 Points, Nifty Opens Below 22,650 as RBI Policy Decision Looms

Indian stock markets opened under pressure on Wednesday, with the Sensex falling nearly 450 points.

And the Nifty slipping below the 22,650 mark as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy announcement. At 9:17 am, the Sensex was down 446.56 points, or 0.61%, at 72,621.25. The Nifty 50 fell 156.20 points, or 0.69%, to 22,619.90.

The weakness extended to the broader market, although mid- and small-cap stocks declined less sharply. The Nifty Midcap Select dropped 0.57%, while the Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 0.58%. The Nifty Smallcap 100 was down 0.32%.

Market volatility also picked up ahead of the policy decision. The India VIX rose 3.63% to 14.10, reflecting increased nervousness among investors.

Consumer, Auto Stocks Under Pressure

Sectoral indices were largely in the red during early trading, with consumer and automobile stocks bearing the brunt of the selling.

The Nifty Consumer Durables index fell 1.49%, making it the worst-performing sector, while Nifty Auto declined 1.12%. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Metal fell 0.96% and 0.95%, respectively.

FMCG stocks also weakened, with the Nifty FMCG index down 0.86%. Nifty Realty fell 0.84%, while Nifty Oil & Gas declined 0.80%.

Banking and financial stocks remained subdued, with Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Bank both trading 0.70% lower.

There were limited pockets of buying. Nifty Media gained 0.32%, Nifty Pharma rose 0.18% and Nifty Healthcare edged up 0.07%. Nifty IT was down a modest 0.32%.

Titan Leads Sensex Decliners

Titan emerged as the biggest loser among Sensex constituents, falling 3.21% in early trade. Asian Paints dropped 1.40%, while Bajaj Finance declined 1.30%.

Maruti Suzuki was down 1.29% and IndiGo fell 1.25%. Reliance Industries declined 1.11%, while Tata Steel, BEL and Axis Bank were also in negative territory.

Bharti Airtel gained 0.68%, making it one of the stronger performers among the Sensex stocks. Sun Pharma rose 0.12%, while Tech Mahindra remained largely flat.

What Investors Are Watching

V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, said the Nifty’s 558-point rebound from last Thursday’s low had offered some relief, but he cautioned that the recovery could face several challenges.

He cited Brent crude prices above $101 a barrel and continued foreign portfolio investor selling as key risks. At the same time, domestic liquidity and expectations of healthy second-quarter corporate earnings are providing support to equities.

According to Vijayakumar, the RBI’s policy stance and Governor’s commentary will be more closely watched than the rate decision itself.

He said expectations of a 25-basis-point rate hike have already been reflected in market prices. Investors will instead look for signals on how the central bank assesses the evolving balance between economic growth and inflation.

The strategist also pointed to the narrowing interest-rate gap between India and the US. Rising US yields and a stronger dollar could add pressure on the rupee, making currency stability another factor the RBI may have to consider while framing its policy response.