Sensex zooms over 250 points after RBI policy outcome

New Delhi: The BSE Sensex gained over 250 points while the broader Nifty reclaimed the key 9,900-mark in afternoon trade Wednesday after announcement of RBI's fourth bi-monthly monetary policy review for FY 2017-18.

Headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) today left the repo rate - the rate at which the central bank infuses liquidity in the banking system (or lends to banks) - unchanged at 6 percent.

"The decision of the MPC is consistent with a neutral stance of monetary policy in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 percent within a band of +/- 2 percent, while supporting growth," the RBI said in its bi-monthly monetary policy review.

The BSE Sensex traded at 31,719.48, up 222.10 points, or 0.71 percent. The NSE Nifty hit 9,930.65, gaining 71.15 points, or 0.72 percent.

Major stocks that rose include Sun Pharma, ITC, RIL, Dr Reddy's and Kotak Mahindra Bank, jumping up to 3.47 percent.

Most Asian markets ruled higher. Markets in China, South Korea and Taiwan were closed for a holiday.

In the US, key indices on Wall Street closed at record levels yesterday driven by recovery in manufacturing and expectations of strong global growth.

Share outflow from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued at net worth Rs 693.03 crore yesterday, showed provisional data from exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares net Rs 1,552.41 crore.