Indian shares rise after central bank holds key rates steady

Wednesday,   07-Apr-2021   12:14 PM (IST)

Indian shares rose on Wednesday after the central bank kept key interest rates unchanged, as widely expected, to support the economy against the backdrop of a second surge in COVID-19 cases. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stuck to its accommodative monetary policy stance amid concerns that rising infections could derail the country's nascent economic recovery. The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 1.1% to 14,851 and the S&P BSE Sensex was up 1.2% at 49,765.67 by 0613 GMT. The benchmark 10-year bond yield rose to 6.19% post-policy, before falling back to 6.06% after the central bank announced a secondary market government securities (G-sec) acquisition programme. The Nifty bank index and the auto index rose 1.3% each. Heavyweight Reliance Industries was the top boost to the Nifty 50 index, rising 2.5%. On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund said unprecedented public spending to fight the pandemic would push global growth to 6% this year, while projecting India's growth rate at 12.5% for 2021.