BENGALURU: Financial and healthcare stocks pushed Indian shares higher on Wednesday after the central bank announced measures to help the sectors tide over a ferocious coronavirus wave in the country.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das announced relief to individual borrowers and small businesses by including one-time debt restructuring for loans, and unveiled a special liquidity window of up to 500 billion rupees ($6.76 billion) for banks to lend to the healthcare sector.

On Wednesday, the blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index closed 0.84% higher at 14,617.85, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex advanced 0.88% to 48,677.55.

The Nifty Bank Index rose 1.59%, while the Nifty PSU Bank Index, which tracks state-run banks, gained 1.47%.

Pharmaceutical stocks got the biggest boost from the RBI’s measures, with the Nifty Pharma index closing 4.12% higher.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries jumped 5.9% and was the biggest percentage gainer on the benchmark Nifty 50. India’s benchmark 10-year bond yield saw a low of 5.9602% during the RBI governor’s address and ended down 3 bps on day at 5.98%, while the rupee was slightly weaker at 73.91 against the dollar.