Indian shares rise after central bank holds key rates steady

BENGALURU: Indian shares and bond yields rose on Wednesday after the country's central bank kept key interest rates unchanged to support the economy against the backdrop of a second surge in domestic coronavirus cases.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept interest rates steady at record lows on Wednesday, as widely expected, amid concerns rising COVID-19 infections could derail the country's nascent economic recovery.

India's central bank has slashed the repo rate by a total of 115 basis points (bps) since March 2020 to soften the blow from the pandemic.

This follows 135 bps worth of rate cuts since the beginning of 2019.

The country's benchmark 10-year bond yield rose 5 bps to 6.16%, while the Indian rupee weakened against the dollar after the rate decision.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.8% to 14,809.70 and the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.7% at 49,559 by 0449 GMT.

Barbeque-Nation Hospitality Ltd's shares fell 2% in their market debut on Wednesday, after the restaurant chain operator raised about 4.53 billion rupees ($61.62 million) through an initial public offering.

The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday 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.