The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building is pictured next to a police van in Mumbai, India on August 24, 2015. REUTERS / Danish Siddiqui / File Photo
Indian stocks opened higher on Wednesday, led by financial heavyweights, as market participants waited for an unexpected address from the central bank governor where further pandemic relief measures are expected to be announced.
Local media, citing sources, reported that banks have asked the central bank to allow another moratorium on loan repayments, or a relaxation in the recognition and provisioning of bad debts, to protect lenders and creditors during the fierce second wave of infections coronavirus in the country.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das will give an address at 04:30 GMT, the central bank said on its Twitter account, without providing further details. Read more
The blue chip NSE Nifty 50 (.NSEI) rose 0.43% to 14,558 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) climbed 0.42% to 48,453.87 to 0351 GMT.
Both indices closed at their lowest level for more than a week on Tuesday, as national coronavirus cases passed the grim milestone of 20 million.
Many states have imposed curfews and lockdowns, while the country’s main opposition political party has called for a nationwide lockdown.
In Mumbai, the Nifty Bank Index (.NSEBANK) rose 0.45%, while the Nifty PSU Bank Index (.NIFTYPSU) rose 0.82%.
HDFC Bank Ltd (HDBK.NS) rose 0.6% and was the best boost for the Nifty 50.
Broader Asian stocks were held steady, following an overnight sell-off in tech stocks on Wall Street, while talks of rising US interest rates also rattled sentiment.
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