The domestic equity barometers traded with decent gains in morning trade after the the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the repo rate unchanged after its monetary policy decision. The Nifty traded above the 18,750 mark. PSU Bank stocks witnessed buying demand for the second consecutive session. Trading could be volatile due to expiry of weekly index options on the NSE.

At 10:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 138.54 points or 0.22% to 63,281.50. The Nifty 50 index rose 43.20 points or 0.23% to 18,769.60.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.13% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.39%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,044 shares rose and 1,170 shares fell. A total of 145 shares were unchanged.

RBI Maintains Status Quo On Rates:

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee meeting has decided to keep the key policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5%. The MPC also decided by a majority of five out of six members to remain focused on 'Withdrawal of accommodation' to ensure that inflation progressively aligns with the target while supporting growth, the RBI governor said. He said the headline inflation is above the target of 4% and expected to remain so during the rest of the year.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 0.51% to 4,117.60. The index rose 1.23% in two trading sessions.

Punjab & Sind Bank (up 2.64%), UCO Bank (up 1.09%), Central Bank of India (up 1.09%), Bank of India (up 0.88%), Union Bank of India (up 0.83%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.53%), Indian Bank (up 0.5%), State Bank of India (up 0.39%), Punjab National Bank (up 0.29%) and Indian Overseas Bank (up 0.2%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Zen Technologies jumped 4.57% after the company announced that it has bagged an order from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India valued at approximately Rs 202 crore. The company looks forward to securing additional sizeable contracts within the next quarter, the anti-drone solutions provier said.

Lemon Tree Hotels rose 1.67% after the company announced that it has signed a license agreement for a 60 room property in Rajamundry, Andhra Pradesh under the brand 'Lemon Tree Hotel'.

Stove Kraft declined 1.20% after Balaji A S, chief financial officer (CFO) of the company has tendered his resignation from services due to personal reasons.

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