Sensex drops 307 points post RBI’s hawkish note on inflation

Sensex and Nifty closed lower on Thursday after RBI delivered a hawkish note on inflation in the short term, despite an anticipated hold on interest rates.

Sensex fell 307 points and closed at 65,688 while Nifty ended at 19,543.

Sectors sensitive to domestic interest rates like banks and financial services stocks were among the top losers as Nifty Bank fell 0.76%. Meanwhile, FMCG index lost 0.91%, followed by Pharma, which was down 0.74%.

Stocks in news
shares of ZEE rose 16% after NCLT approved the merger with Sony, dismissing all the objections.
Max Financial Services closed nearly 8% higher after Axis Bank received approval to infuse Rs 1,612 crore in the insurer.

Gainers and losers
IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel and Titan were the top gainers, while on the other hand HDFC Bank, Tata Motors and Nestle India declined the most.

Global Markets
Global benchmarks mostly rose Thursday as investors braced for a highly anticipated US inflation report. Meanwhile, Asian shares are trading near two-week low on China deflation concerns.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last down 0.1% and looked set to log a second straight week of losses.

Rupee and Oil
The Rupee rose 15 paise to close at 82.70 against the US dollar due to weakness in the dollar ahead of US inflation data.
Oil prices were marginally down. Brent crude fell to $87.43 a barrel while US WTI was at $84.19.