Wednesday, October 07, 2026 — RBI hikes repo 25bps to 5.50%, JGB yields ease on BOJ hike odds, China gold reserves rise 23rd straight month. India opens lower; Japan, HK, Korea, Singapore are watching

RBI hiked repo 25bps to 5.50%, first hike in nearly 4 years. Sensex opened -330, Nifty -128 ahead of the decision, then trimmed losses. Watch rate-sensitives. Why now? Inflation. RBI is trying to stay ahead of it. Banks, autos, real estate, NBFCs are the first pressure points. This is a growth-vs-inflation trade now. Rupee closed at 96.42/USD, down 13 paise. Home and car loans get costlier. FD rates may finally rise. Savers win, borrowers lose. Japan: JGB yields eased as markets weigh the BOJ rate-hike outlook. This is the tug-of-war for the open — higher BOJ rates help banks, hurt growth and tech. China: gold reserves rose for the 23rd straight month, while FX reserves fell. Beijing is still diversifying away from the dollar. Good signal for gold, cautious signal for CNY. Korea: global banks lifted growth outlook to 3.5% on the chip boom. But NK warns of "powerful counteraction" and Seoul readied forces after Sept. 21 DMZ mine explosions. Semis bid, geopolitics tail risk. China’s Deep

RBI hiked repo 25bps to 5.50%, first hike in nearly 4 years. Sensex opened -330, Nifty -128 ahead of the decision, then trimmed losses. Watch rate-sensitives.