Sensex rises up with a gain of 1,154 Points. Nifty advances above 17,100 following RBI rate increase

The Sensex and Nifty, two important market benchmarks, rose strongly on Friday after local investors celebrated the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 50 basis point rate increase to 5.9%.

The NSE Nifty was trading at 17,140, up 322 points, while the wider Sensex was up 1,154 points at 57,564 at 2.30 pm.

Airtel was the highest gainer on the 30-share Sensex platform, up 4.47 percent. Others in the black included IndusInd Bank, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Titan, HDFC Bank, and others. Only two, Asian Paint and HUL, were trading in the red, on the other hand.

The broader markets also experienced a respite as the Nifty SmallCap 100 and Nifty MidCap 100 indices both increased by 0.9%. Meanwhile, the India VIX, a measure of volatility, fell by more than 5%.

Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Bank experienced the most sectoral gains of over 2%. Additionally, the Nifty Realty and Nifty Auto indices both increased by more than 1%.