Sensex, Nifty rise ahead of RBI monetary policy decision

Mumbai: Shares rose in early trade on Wednesday, with the benchmark Sensex surging 360.77 points ahead of the RBI monetary policy decision and positive sentiments spurred by US Federal Reserve comments on inflation.

Asian markets witnessed mixed trends on Wednesday.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 360.77 points or 0.60 per cent to 60,646.81 points, while the broader NSE Nifty climbed 121.60 points 0.69 per cent to 17,843.10 points in early trade.

Ultra cement was the biggest gainer on the Sensex chart, rising 2.43 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, TCS, Reliance Industries, Infosys and HCL Tech.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, NTPC, PowerGrid, Maruti and HUL were the laggards.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said US stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday after a volatile session in the wake of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s comments that inflation will decline significantly in 2023 but more interest-rate hikes will be necessary.

"But Powells' remarks were less hawkish than some investors had anticipated, and the reaction in markets was one of relief," he added.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will announce its monetary policy decision in the morning and there are expectations that the repo rate might be hiked by 25 basis points.