Bank stocks decline up to 3.5% as Reserve Bank keeps key rates unchanged

New Delhi: Shares of banks on Wednesday fell up to 3.5 percent after the Reserve Bank of India kept interest rates unchanged. Shares of IDFC Bank declined 3.46 percent, IndusInd Bank 2 percent, ICICI Bank 1.93 percent on the BSE. [caption id="attachment_4632741" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. Reuters.[/caption]Among others, Kotak Mahindra Bank dropped 1.39 percent, Axis Bank 1.30 percent and State Bank of India 0.74 percent. Led by losses in these stocks, BSE Bankex ended 1 percent lower at 29,599.99 and BSE Private Bank Index fell 0.95 percent to 10,534.67. The central bank kept benchmark repurchase (repo) rate unchanged at 6.5 percent but held out a promise to cut them if the upside risks to the inflation do not materialise. Having raised rates twice this year, the central bank retained its 'calibrated tightening' policy stance. The central bank retained the GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal at 7.4 percent.