Stock market today: The domestic benchmark indices snapped a two-day winning streak on Wednesday after the RBI raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.5% and shifted its policy stance to “calibrated tightening”, citing inflation risks from elevated oil prices and tighter global monetary conditions.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.76% to 22,603.05, while the Sensex declined 0.59% to 72,638.70. Both indices were already down around 0.7% ahead of the policy decision. The rupee slipped to a five-month low against the US dollar, while bond yields rose after the announcement. Brent crude gained 1.3% to around $102 a barrel.
Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities has a positive near-term view on both stocks. He recommends Bank of Maharashtra with a target of ₹91 from ₹84.10 and Usha Martin with a target of ₹558 from ₹518.50, both for a 2–3-week timeframe. The bullish setups are supported by higher highs and lows, positive volume and RSI signals, while Usha Martin has also bounced from a higher-bottom formation near ₹481.
After showing promising bounce back in the last couple of sessions, Nifty 50 failed to sustain the highs and slipped into weakness on the backdrop of 25bps rate hike by RBI on its MPC meeting. Nifty 50 closed the day lower by 173 points.
A reasonable negative candle was formed on the daily chart that has closed lower after a gap down opening. Technically, Nifty 50 seems to have turned down from near the immediate resistance of 22,800 levels. It looks like a formation of new lower top at Tuesday's high of 22,776. However, sharp follow-through weakness in the subsequent session could confirm a lower top formation.