Sensex, Nifty open higher ahead of RBI rate decision; YES Bank, SJVN surge up to 7%; Paytm down 8%

Indian equity benchmarks open higher on Thursday ahead of Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monetary policy decision. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 321 points or 0.45 per cent to trade at 72,473, while the NSE Nifty was up 65 points or 0.30 per cent to trade at 21,996. Broader markets (mid- and small-cap shares) were also up as Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.69 per cent and small-cap gained 0.71 per cent. The Reserve Bank's rate decision will be announced at 10:00 am.

BSE 500 stocks such as YES Bank, SJVN, KEC, LIC, EPL, Kalyan Jewellers, Cummins India and PowerGrid jumped up to 6.87 per cent. In contrast, One 97 Communications Ltd (Paytm's parent), Borosil Renewables, Sobha, JK Papaer and GNFC cracked up to 7.61 per cent.

On the global front, Asian markets were up today. Overnight, Wall Street equities advanced overnight, with S&P 500 closing at a record high, supported by strong earnings gained after China announced measures to curb short-selling.

Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold Rs 1,691.02 crore worth of shares on a net basis during the previous session while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased Rs 327.73 crore worth of shares, exchange data showed.

12 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the NSE -- were trading in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Oil & Gas were outperforming the NSE platform by rising as much as 1.40 per cent and 0.94 per cent, respectively. However, Nifty Realty and Nifty FMCG slipped 0.50 per cent and 0.22 per cent.

On the stock-specific front, PowerGrid was the top gainer in the Nifty pack as the stock soared 5.09 per cent to trade at Rs 281.6. BPCL, IndusInd Bank, SBI and HCL Tech rose up to 2.85 per cent.

In contrast, Maruti, Tata Consumer Products, Britannia, Bajaj Finance and Eicher Motors were among the top losers on Nifty50.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,906 shares were advancing while 1,065 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, PowerGrid, HDFC Bank, TCS, Infosys, SBI, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries and L&T were among the top gainers.

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