India’s BSE Sensex advanced nearly 1% to close at 76,991 on Wednesday, recouping the previous session’s losses. Softer crude oil prices and supportive commentary from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) helped counter worries over possible US interest rate hikes and weak monsoon rains.
In an interview, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra indicated it was premature to discuss rate increases, stressing that the central bank will continue to closely track inflation and global conditions before taking any policy decision. At the same time, fresh data showed that monsoon rainfall is currently about 43% below the seasonal average.
Banking and financial stocks led the advance after the RBI permitted loans to non-resident Indians against foreign-currency deposits, easing funding constraints for lenders. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank rose as much as 2.7%. IndiGo jumped 4.7% on expectations of stronger operational performance, while technology shares also moved higher.
In contrast, NTPC, Tata Steel and Maruti Suzuki were among the key decliners.
