Sensex down after RBI keeps policy rate unchanged

After falling over 173 points in the early trade, the BSE Sensex today moved briefly into the positive terrain even as the RBI kept the key interest rate unchanged, but was again trading lower at noon.
The Sensex, which shed 173.16 points in early trade, bounced back to trade 16.77 points, or 0.05 per cent, higher at 28,576.39 at 1130 hours after the Reserve Bank announced its fifth bi-monthly policy review.
The gains in capital goods, metal, power, healthcare and banking stocks, had helped the key indices to trade in positive zone for a while.
However, the Sensex was trading in the red again at 28,411.62, 148 points or 0.52 per cent at noon.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty was trading at 8,518.20, down 0.44 per cent.
Brokers said the RBI decision to keep key interest rate unchanged was largely in line with investor expectations but its hint about lowering it early next year had improved the sentiment to some extent.
RBI left the short-term lending rate or repo rate unchanged at 8 per cent, and the cash reserve ratio static at 4 per cent. The statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) has also been retained at 22 per cent.
RBI also retained the growth projection for the current fiscal at 5.5 per cent.