Stock Market: Sensex Rises 320 Points, Nifty Trades Above 17,800 Ahead Of RBI MPC Decision. Airtel Slips 2%

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, UltraCemco, HCL, Bajaj Finance, TCS, Infosys, Wipro were leading the pack, while Airtel, Maruti, PowerGrid, M&M, Tata Motors, NTPC emerged early losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday opened trade higher ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) monetary policy decision. According to experts, the RBI rate-setting panel may hike repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.5 per cent.

At 9.30 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 320 points to 60,606. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 17,833, up 112 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, UltraCemco, HCL, Bajaj Finance, TCS, Infosys, Wipro were leading the pack. On the flip side, Airtel, Maruti, PowerGrid, M&M, Tata Motors, NTPC emerged early losers.

Among stocks, Bharti Airtel slipped 2 per cent despite a 91 per cent YoY rise in its Q3 net profit. Paytm surged over 6 per cent after Macquaire upgraded the stock to 'outperform' from 'underperform', and raised the target price to Rs 800 from Rs 450.  

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were up to 0.4 per cent higher.

Sectorwise, the Nifty Auto and Realty indices were the only losers, while IT and Metal indices gained the most by over 1 per cent each.

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.

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.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 4 paise to 82.66 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, supported by a firm trend in domestic equities ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision.

However, investors remained concerned over rising crude prices in the overseas markets and persistent foreign capital outflows, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened strong at 82.67 against the dollar, then inched higher to 82.66, a rise of 4 paise over its last close.

In early deals, it was moving in a close range of 82.66-82.67. On Tuesday, the rupee rose 6 paise to close at 82.70 against the US dollar.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.18 per cent to $83.84 per barrel.

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