Sensex rises over 200 pts ahead of RBI policy outcome; Nifty tops 17,850

The 30-share Sensex was trading 223.79 points or 0.37 per cent higher at 59,901.62. Similarly, the Nifty rose 77.75 points or 0.44 per cent to 17,868.10.

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 200 points in early trade on Friday, tracking gains in Infosys, Reliance Industries and TCS, ahead of the Reserve Bank’s policy outcome.

The 30-share Sensex was trading 223.79 points or 0.37 per cent higher at 59,901.62. Similarly, the Nifty rose 77.75 points or 0.44 per cent to 17,868.10.

Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 3 per cent, followed by TCS, Dr Reddy’s, L&T, Infosys and M&M.

On the other hand, HUL, Asian Paints, HDFC, HCL Tech, SBI and Titan were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the 30-share index ended 488.10 points or 0.82 per cent higher at 59,677.83, while Nifty rose 144.35 points or 0.82 per cent to 17,790.35.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,764.25 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data.

“Investors would be keenly watching RBI monetary policy meeting outcome later in the day, especially with regard to commentary over inflation, economic growth and more importantly comments about likelihood of fiscal tightening in future,” said Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities.

Further, festive demand, recovery in rural demand, COVID-19 positivity rates, vaccination ramp-up and September quarter earnings will be in focus in the near-term, he added.
US equities extended gains for the third consecutive day mainly on positive development with regard to debt ceiling.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo were trading with gains in mid-session deals, while Hong Kong was in the red.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 1.13 per cent to USD 82.88 per barrel.

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