Bank and realty stocks on the BSE today witnessed selling pressure after the Reserve Bank left interest rate unchanged.

Among banking scrips, PNB tumbled 7.16 per cent, Axis Bank plunged 4.17 per cent and Kotak Mahindra Bank lost 3.30 per cent on the BSE.

HDFC Bank fell by 1.92 per cent, while SBI was quoting 2.32 per cent down and ICICI Bank lost 1.63 per cent.

Tracking weakness in these stocks, the BSE banking index was trading 2.49 per cent lower at 22,214.41

From the realty pack, stocks of Anant Raj fell by 4.05 per cent, Unitech was down 3.37 per cent, Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd went down by 3.54 per cent and Indiabulls Real Estate shed 2.84 per cent on the BSE.

DLF was trading lower by 1.86 per cent and Prestige Estates was down 0.77 per cent.

The BSE realty index was trading with a loss of 1.37 per cent at 1,790.78.

Disappointing markets and the industry, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today left interest rate unchanged, saying there are no developments to warrant further easing since the unscheduled rate cut about a fortnight ago.

RBI kept the benchmark repurchase rate at 7.75 per cent, but cut the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) — the amount of funds that lenders must set aside — by 50 basis points to 21.5 per cent of deposits from February 7, a move that will help banks to increase lending.

Stock markets fell sharply soon after the policy was announced.

The broader market also surrendered its initial gains and the benchmark Sensex was quoting down by 181 points to 28,941.34 at 1.15 pm.

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