Das walks the talk

DAYS AWAY FROM completing his second term at the RBI's helm, Das sidestepped a query on his future. "I'm not giving you any headline and I think it is better we stick to monetary policy," he told reporters.

The stock markets stayed listless during the day, but the Sensex snapped a five-day rally to close at 81,709.12 points, down 56.74. The 10-year G-Sec bond yields, which had softened 6 bps since the beginning of December, hardened by the same extent to close at 6.74%. "While the RBI gave a liquidity boost today, especially in view of the rapidly tightening system liquidity becoming another drag on growth, it is likely waiting for lower inflation prints before cutting the policy repo rate," said Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist, HSBC.