Rate Sensitive Stocks Ignore RBI's Rate Hike By 50 Bps; Nifty Auto Bearish

In its August bi-monthly monetary policy, RBI hiked key policy rate-the rate at which the RBI lends to banks by 50 basis points to 5.4%. On the development, interest-sensitive stocks largely traded with gains.

Nifty Bank at the time of writing this copy at around 12 pm traded higher by 0.86%. From the pack, stocks like IDFC First Bank, ICICI Bank, Federal Bank, SBI traded with gains of between 1-2%.

Nevertheless, Nifty Auto saw some pressure and was down by 0.35% due to selling in auto ancillary stocks such as Balkrishna Industries, Sona Comstar, TVS Motor etc.

Realty pack also sensitive to interest rates is up 0.65% at around the time of writing this copy. Shares of Indiabulls Real Estate, Lodha, Sobha and Prestige among others gained by up to 2.5%.

"The hike by 50 bps is definitely on the higher side, and home loan lending rates will now edge further into the red zone," said Anuj Puri, Chairman - ANAROCK Group. "This whammy comes along with the inflationary trends of primary raw materials, including cement, steel, labour, etc., that have recently led to a rise in property prices. Together, these factors will impact residential sales."