Sensex tumbles 138 pts as RBI hikes repo rate by 0.25%

Mumbai: The benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex Tuesday tumbled over 138 points in late morning trade on funds selling in blue-chip stocks led by the banking sector after the Reserve Bank of India hiked repo rate by 0.25 bps in its monetary policy review.

After a positive opening, the Sensex fell by 138.90 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 20,568.55 at 1110 hours soon after the Reserve Bank announced its third quarter policy review.

The RBI kept cash reserve ratio unchanged at 4 per cent.

The Sensex had lost over 666 points in the last two trading sessions.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 37.75 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 6,098.10.

The banking sector index lost the most, falling 1.63 per cent to 11,860.99, followed by FMCG index by 1.02 per cent to 6,444.40 points.