Reserve Bank of India's policy action may have failed in containing the Sensex slide to a two-year low, but its intervention in rupee movement has helped Indian stock market retain its trillion-dollar tag, at least for now.
The market went into a tailspin on Friday, as the central bank's decision to keep the interest rates unchanged did not help the sagging investor sentiments, and the barometer Sensex declined to its lowest level since November 3, 2009.
In the process, the value of Indian stock market, measured in terms of the collective value of all listed shares, fell to Rs 54,11,301.50 crore (Rs 54,113.01 billion) -- which is just over $1-trillion level at current currency rates.
In the dollar terms, the Indian market would have lost its trillion-dollar valuation tag, if the rupee had managed to at least hold onto the record sub-54 level, it hit on Thursday.
Rupee plunged to a record low of Rs 54.30 against the dollar on Thursday, but an RBI intervention reversed the fall and the Indian currency came back to near Rs 52-level.
At the rupee's record low level, Indian stock market's size would have been as low as $996.5 billion at the end of Friday's trade.
However, as the rupee has returned to near 52-level and closed at Rs 52.70 against the US dollar on Friday, the market valuation managed to hold onto the $1-trillion mark -- although with a very thin margin at $1.026