Indian shares rose on Wednesday in line with broader Asian markets as investors awaited key political and economic events including the monetary policy meeting in India. The Reserve Bank of India is likely to strike a less hawkish tone while leaving interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting later in the day, according to analysts, as inflation is running well below forecasts and the economy has slowed more than expected.
With the UK elections, the European Central Bank's policy meeting, and former FBI director James Comey's Senate testimony all set for Thursday, investors were noticeably risk averse across the globe. The broader NSE index was up 0.36 percent at 9,671.45 as of 0536 GMT, a day after breaching the 9,700 level for the first time. The benchmark BSE index was 0.41 percent higher at 31,317.09, driven by gains in consumer stocks. Both indexes were headed for a third session of gains in four. The Nifty Pharma index, which had fallen nearly 11 percent this year as of Tuesday's close, gained as much as 1.6 percent to its highest in nearly three weeks.