Stock markets fell sharply late in the afternoon on May 4, with the Sensex plummeting 1,060.64 points after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked interest rates to 4.40 percent to curb inflation.
The 30-part BSE benchmark fell 1,060.64 points, or 1.86 percent, to 55,915.35 in late afternoon trading. The NSE Nifty also lost 317.75 points or 1.86 percent to 16,751.35.
On Wednesday, the RBI raised interest rates by 40 basis points to 4.40 percent in a bid to stem inflation, which has remained stubbornly above the 6 percent target zone for the past three months.
The decision follows an unscheduled Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, where all six members voted unanimously to hike rates while maintaining an accommodative stance.
From the Sensex pack, the prominent losers were Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Titan, HUL, RIL, Asian Paints and HDFC Bank. In contrast, PowerGrid, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC, Infosys and Wipro were the winners.
On May 2, the BSE benchmark fell 84.88 points, or 0.15 percent, to 56,975.99 and the Nifty fell 33.45 points, or 0.20 percent, to close at 17,069.10.
Stock markets were closed for Eid-Ul-Fitr on Tuesday.
Markets in Seoul and Hong Kong were down on Wednesday. Trading on the US stock exchanges rose sharply on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 3.63 percent to $108.8 a barrel.
Overseas institutional investors dumped Rs 1,853.46 crore worth of shares on Monday, according to stock market data.
