Market closes lower on RBI status quo

The market fell for a third consecutive session on Tuesday to mark their lowest close in nearly two weeks as interest-rate sensitive stocks declined after the central bank held rates steady while boosting banks' liquidity in a bid to persuade them to lower lending rates.

Stocks continued their retreat from record highs hit last week after the Reserve Bank of India kept its policy repo rate unchanged at 7.75 percent, leaving its next reduction probably until after the government presents its annual Budget at the end of this month.

Falls also tracked selling by overseas investors worth Rs 6.3 crore on Monday after 11 continuous days of buying and a total of $2.9 billion of stock buying so far this year, provisional exchange and regulatory data showed.

The benchmark BSE index fell 0.42 per cent while the broader NSE index ended 0.46 per cent lower, marking their lowest close since January 21.

(Reuters)