Stock Market: Sensex Gains 378 Points, Nifty Closes Above 17,850 Following RBI MPC Decision. Metal, IT Lead

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finance, UltraCemco, RIL, Infosys, Wipro emerged gainers. On the flip side, L&T, Airtel, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, and HUL were the only losers.

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday snapped their two-day losing run, despite a 25 basis point hike in repo rate by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The RBI Monetary Policy Committee has raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.50 per cent in order to bring inflation back towards the central bank's 4 per cent target, said Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday.

The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 378 points to close at 60,664 levels. On the other hand, the Nifty50 closed at 17,872, rallying 150 points. The two domestic indices hit their respective intra-day highs of 60,792, and 17,898.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finance, UltraCemco, RIL, Infosys, Wipro emerged gainers. On the flip side, L&T, Airtel, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, and HUL were the only losers.

Other frontline indices like Adani Enterprises surged 23 per cent as it led the winners' list on the Nifty50 while Adani Ports jumped 9 per cent. Individually, shares of beaten down new-age internet companies, including Paytm, Zomato, and Policybazaar, rallied up to 10 per cent on Wednesday, supported by heavy volumes, on expectation of improvement in financial performance.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index added 1 per cent and the BSE SmallCap index gained 0.76 per cent.

Sectorwise, the Nifty Metal index jumped 4 per cent, followed by the Nifty IT index (1.5 per cent), and the Nifty Pharma index (1.43 per cent). The Nifty FMCG and Realty indices dipped wee bit in red.

In the previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 60,286, down 221 points. On the other hand, the Nifty50, settled at 17,722, down 43 points.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 19 paise to close at 82.51 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the repo rate by 25 basis points.

A rally in the domestic equity markets and weakness in the greenback against major crosses overseas also supported the rupee, forex traders said. However, surging crude prices in the international market and persistent foreign fund outflows restricted the appreciation bias in the local unit, they added.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened strong at 82.67 and touched an intra-day high of 82.47 and a low of 82.72 against the greenback. It finally settled at 82.51, up 19 paise over its previous close of 82.70.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 1.31 per cent to $84.79 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,559.96 crore, according to exchange data.