New Delhi, June 18 : The markets have been on a high for the past few sessions, particularly the Nifty, which consistently touched and even crossed the 18,000 mark earlier this week.

Nevertheless, most of them have decided to stay focused on their primary task - keeping inflation under control. For instance, the US Federal Reserve in its latest policy in March 2023 hiked the key interest rate by a quarter (25 basis points) of a percentage point. The Bank of England also hiked interest rate by 25 basis points. The European Central Bank also hiked rate by 50 basis points in March.  But the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to bite the bullet on rate hikes. It surprised the markets by taking a pause on rate hikes despite the headline inflation staying well above 6 percent in the previous two months. However, it kept the options open for itself while maintaining the 'withdrawal of accommodation' stance.