Rate sensitive shares trade firm after RBI hikes repo rate by 50 bps

Shares of rate sensitive sectors such as automobiles, realty and financials including banks, non banking finance companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies had gained up to 3 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday raised the repo rate by 50 basis points to 4.9 per cent (bps), which was more or less on expected lines.

Meanwhile, the MPC also decided to remain focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation remains within the target going forward, while supporting growth.

These decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the mediumterm target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 per cent within a band of +/- 2 per cent, while supporting growth, RBI said in Monetary Policy Statement, 2022-23.

"RBI's projections of GDP growth rate of 7.2 per cent and inflation of 6.7 per cent for FY23 reflect a realistic monetary policy. The higher inflation projection indicates that the central bank recognises the seriousness of inflation and the 50 bps repo rate hike is a message that they are determined to anchor inflation expectations. The Governor's remark that " the economy remains resilient and recovery has gathered momentum" is bullish from the market perspective. The bond market's positive response with bond yields rising stems from the absence of CRR hike.", says Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Macrotech Developers, Sobha, DLF, Oberoi Realty and Brigade Enterprises from the realty were up in the range of 1 per cent to 3 per cent on the NSE. However, most of these stocks had corrected sharply and fallen by up to 50 per cent from their respective 52-week high levels.

State Bank of India (SBI), Cholamandalam Investment and Finance, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank from the financials traded 1 per cent to 2 per cent higher. Hero MotoCorp, Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors also traded in green on the NSE.

At 10:38 am, the Nifty Financials and Nifty Realty indices were up 1 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively. The Nifty Auto index was flat around 11,360, while the NSE Nifty 50 benchmark was up 0.2 per cent.

RBI in its statement said that the recovery in domestic economic activity is gathering strength. Rural consumption should benefit from the likely normal south-west monsoon and the expected improvement in agricultural prospects.

A rebound in contact-intensive services is likely to bolster urban consumption, going forward. Investment activity is expected to be supported by improving capacity utilisation, the government’s capex push, and strengthening bank credit. Growth of merchandise and services exports is set to sustain the recent buoyancy. Spillovers from prolonged geopolitical tensions, elevated commodity prices, continued supply bottlenecks and tightening global financial conditions nevertheless weigh on the outlook, the statement added.