Benchmark indices ended lower on Thursday weighed down by rate-sensitive sectors following the Reserve Bank of India’s expected decision to maintain its key interest rate unchanged for the sixth consecutive meeting.

Sensex ended lower by 723.57 points or 1% at 71,428.43 level , while the Nifty 50 closed at 21,717.95 level, down 212.55 points or 0.97%.

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Weakness in FMCG stocks, including ITC, and Nestle India, along with the weekly F&O expiry added further pressure on the indices.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index eked out gains of 0.08%, while the BSE SmallCap index fell 0.44%.

Among sectors, the Nifty PSU Bank, and Media indices ended 2% higher, followed by 0.22% gain in the Nifty IT index. The Nifty Private Bank index cracked 2.5%.

Bank Nifty witnessed a sharp decline and closed deep in the red. The consolidation of the last three trading sessions has been breached on the downside.

Prior to the RBI rate decision, both indices rose by around 0.2% but they quickly turned negative and continued to decline.

On the daily charts, Nifty has witnessed a sharp decline from the resistance zone 22000 to 22050. Despite multiple attempts the Nifty has been unable to surpass the resistance zone.

As many as 15 stocks settled in the green in the Nifty 50 index while the rest 34 ended in red.

Some of the key ones who ended as top gainers were: State Bank of India (up 3.64%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (up 3.35%), Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (up 3.00%), Coal India Ltd (up 1.84%), Hindalco Industries Ltd (up 1.73%).

On the global space, the shares were mostly up in Asia as the S&P 500 approached the 5,000 mark for the first time.

China’s smaller primary market saw a 1.3% increase in the Shenzhen Components index, which tracked the Shanghai Composite index, which increased 1.3% to 2,865.90. Mainland China’s markets will be closed for the Lunar New Year vacation starting on Friday and continuing into next week.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 1.2% to 15,878.07 due to massive selling of technology companies. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 2.1% to 36,863.28, while the Kospi in Seoul saw a rise of 0.4% to 2,620.32. The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia increased 0.3% to 7,639.20.