Equities trade flat after RBI keeps lending rates unchanged

Key Indian equity indices on Wednesday traded on a flat note during the afternoon session after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept its key lending rate unchanged.

The key interest rate was kept unchanged at 6 per cent for the fourth time in succession at the RBI's final bi-monthly monetary policy review of the fiscal, citing concerns about the inflationary push by rising global crude oil prices.

Around 2.50 p.m., the wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange traded higher by 6.80 points or 0.06 per cent at 10,505.05 points.

The barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 34,563.30 points, traded at 34,160.95 points -- down 34.99 points or 0.10 per cent from its previous session's close.

The Sensex has so far touched a high of 34,666.33 points and a low of 34,059.59 points during intra-day trade.

The BSE market breadth was, however, bullish with 2,044 advances and 680 declines.

On Tuesday, the key indices witnessed their steepest intra-day fall -- with the Sensex shedding a staggering 1,200 points before recovering by over 700 points -- in almost two-and-a-half years following a global sell-off.

The Sensex closed at 34,195.94 points, down 561.22 points or 1.61 per cent, while the Nifty50 closed trade at 10,498.25 points -- down 168.30 points or 1.58 per cent.

--IANS

ppg/vm