Bank, auto and realty stocks were down by as much as 5 per cent today post RBI policy where the central bank left the key interest rate unchanged.
Among bank stocks, ICICI Bank fell by 3.02 per cent, Axis Bank was down 2 per cent, State Bank of India lost 2 per cent and Kotak Mahindra Bank slipped 1.67 per cent on BSE.
Similarly, Bank of Baroda stocks went down by 0.94 per cent, Yes Bank fell by 0.91 per cent, Punjab National Bank 0.67 per cent and HDFC Bank 0.54 per cent.
Led by the losses in these stocks, the BSE bank index lost 1.68 per cent to end at 17,065.50.
"The RBI has kept the key policy rate unchanged today, which is along the expected lines. We believe there remains a headroom for rate cut going ahead, but more clarity to emerge post budget," Angel Broking Chairman and MD, Dinesh Thakkar said.
From realty pack, Indiabulls Real Estate plunged by 5.08 per cent, DLF was down 3.51 per cent, Oberoi Realty (2.34 per cent), Unitech (1.80 per cent), D B Realty (0.98 per cent) and Godrej Properties (0.91 per cent).
The BSE realty index fell by 1.71 per cent to 1,190.75.
Among auto scrips, Tata Motors lost 2.56 per cent, Maruti was down 1.79 per cent, Mahindra & Mahindra declined by 1.46 per cent and Hero MotoCorp fell by 0.52 per cent.
Following the dip in these stocks, the BSE auto index slipped by 1.39 per cent to end at 16,748.33.
Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan today left the key interest rate unchanged citing inflation risks and growth concerns, while pegging further easing of monetary policy on government's budget proposals.
Rajan said RBI "continues to be accommodative" but would look forward to the government's budget proposals on February 29 as also the inflation trend.
RBI, which had cut interest rate by 125 basis points or 1.25 per cent in 2015, retained the benchmark repo (lending) rate at 6.75 per cent for the second straight bi-monthly policy of the current fiscal. The next review or the first for the 2016-17 is scheduled for April 5.
Reserve Bank's dovish stand on policy rates today failed to soothe jittery investor nerves as the market benchmark Sensex plummeted by 286 points to close at 24,539.
