The Indian markets indicated a positive day ahead for investors as benchmark indices rallied in the pre-open hour. The BSE Sensex climbed more than 100 points to cross 81,250, while the NSE Nifty50 inched up 35 points to stand above 24,600, as the markets hoped for a recovery from the drag seen in the previous trading session.
This sentiment continued to lift indices after markets opened. At 9:32 AM, the Sensex rallied close to 350 points and inched closer to 81,500, while the Nifty jumped more than 100 points to test 24,700 in the session.
On the 30-share Sensex, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Tech M, Infosys, and M&M emerged among the gainers. Meanwhile, the laggards included Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Nestle, IndusInd Bank, and Hindustan Unilever.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Microcap 250 soared 0.93 per cent in the early market hours. Sectorally, the Metal index led ahead in green and jumped more than 2 per cent.
Inflation
Official data released on Tuesday showed that the retail inflation in India cooled down to a nearly six-year low of 3.16 per cent in April. This ease in the rate was attributed to falling prices of vegetables, fruits, pulses, and other protein-rich products. This helped push the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to move ahead with another round of rate cut in its monetary policy review in June. Notably, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation touched 3.34 per cent in March, 4.83 per cent in April 2024, and 3.15 per cent in July 2019.
"A strong tailwind for the Indian market is the sharp dip in April CPI inflation to 3.16 per cent. This leaves enough room for the MPC to cut rates thrice more in this cutting cycle. This is positive for the market in general and rate sensitives in particular," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.