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Indian stock markets opened higher on Wednesday, with gains led by the information technology and pharmaceutical sectors as investors anticipated the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy decision, expecting the central bank to hold interest rates steady.
As of 9:44 a.m. IST, the Nifty 50 index rose by 0.25% to 25,073 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.18% to 81,778.84. The RBI is expected to maintain key policy rates unchanged for the tenth consecutive meeting, as it continues its effort to keep inflation in check.
When the policy announcement was announced at 10:00 a.m. IST stating that the RBI’s MPC panel voted in favour of keeping the repo rate unchanged at 6.5%, the market sentiment slightly reversed but is expected to improve once the RBI Governor Shaktikanta das gives his press briefing at 12 p.m. on Wednesday.
Eleven of the 13 major sectors posted gains, with small- and mid-cap stocks climbing roughly 1%. The IT sector rose 0.7%, marking its fourth consecutive day of gains, as U.S. labor market data eased fears of a recession in India’s key export market. The pharma sector also jumped 1.3%, led by Divi’s Laboratories, which surged 5% following a “buy” rating from Citi.
Torrent Power saw a notable 8% jump after securing two significant orders from the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company to build 2000 MW of energy storage capacity.
