bank stocks: Stocks of banks & other rate-sensitive sectors rally after RBI MPC announcements

Nifty PSU Bank index rallied the most at 2.26% with

, and inching up 3-4% each. Nifty Bank was 1.87% higher with heavyweights , and advancing 2% each.

Samvardhana Motherson was the top gainer in the Nifty Auto index with a rally of nearly 4%. Other top gainers included

, Bharat Forge and .

Among realty stocks, Phoenix jumped 2.5%,

1.6% while , and were trading 1% higher.

While increasing the repo rate by 50 bps to 5.9%, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the MPC has decided to remain focused on the withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation remains within the target going forward, while supporting growth.

Investors also took note of Das’s statement that the recent correction in global commodity prices including crude oil, if sustained, may ease cost pressures in the coming months.

“The relatively unchanged growth and inflation outlook by the RBI indicate that the policy arithmetic hasn’t materially changed for it, and the reluctance to change stance from ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ indicates that more monetary policy tightening is likely to be in the pipeline,” said Aurodeep Nandi, India Economist and Vice President at Nomura.

Stating that the rate hike was in line with market expectations,

Anu Aggarwal, President & Head of Corporate Banking,

said the rise in rates will slow down capex plans of corporate India which were just about kicking off.