Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded in early trade on Wednesday as retail inflation eased to a nearly six-year low of 3.16 per cent in April, creating enough room for the Reserve Bank to go for another round of rate cut in the June monetary policy review.

Also, a cooling US April inflation data added to the positive trend in the equity markets.

The 30-share BSE benchmark gauge Sensex climbed 281.43 points to 81,429.65 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up by 96.65 points to 24,675.

From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv and Reliance Industries were the major gainers.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel climbed over 2 per cent after it posted about a five-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 11,022 crore in the March 2025 quarter, mainly due to the tariff hike impact and one-time gain on tax benefits.

However, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Nestle and IndusInd Bank were among the laggards.

Tata Motors dipped over 1 per cent after the firm reported a 51 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,556 crore for the March quarter, hit by lower volumes and operating leverage.

“A strong tailwind for the Indian market is the sharp dip in April CPI inflation to 3.16 per cent. This leaves enough room for the MPC to cut rates thrice more in this cutting cycle. This is positive for the market in general and rate sensitives in particular,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Retail inflation eased to a nearly six-year low of 3.16 per cent in April mainly due to subdued prices of vegetables, fruits, pulses, and other protein-rich items, creating enough room for the Reserve Bank to go for another round of rate cut in the June monetary policy review.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation was 3.34 per cent in March and 4.83 per cent in April 2024. It was 3.15 per cent in July 2019.

“These developments (India, US inflation data) are likely to boost investor sentiment. In addition, easing trade tensions between the US and China, as well as a reduction in geopolitical frictions between India and Pakistan, are supportive of a favorable market environment,” Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities, said in his pre-open market quote.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading higher while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index quoted lower.

US markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.57 per cent to USD 66.25 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 476.86 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

On Tuesday, the Sensex tanked 1,281.68 points or 1.55 per cent to settle at 81,148.22. The broader Nifty of NSE dropped 346.35 points or 1.39 per cent to 24,578.35.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Wholesale price inflation dropped to 0.85 per cent in April as prices of food articles, manufactured products, and fuel eased, government data showed on Wednesday.

WPI-based inflation was 2.05 per cent in March. It was 1.19 per cent in April last year. ” Positive rate of inflation in April, 2025 is primarily due to an increase in prices of manufacture of food products, other manufacturing, chemicals and chemical products, manufacture of other transport equipment and manufacture of machinery and equipment, etc,” the industry ministry said in a statement.

As per the WPI (Wholesale price index ) data, food articles saw a deflation of 0.86 per cent in April from an inflation of 1.57 per cent in March, with vegetables seeing a sharp drop. Deflation in vegetables was 18.26 per cent during April compared to deflation of 15.88 per cent in March. In onion, inflation eased to 0.20 per cent in April, as against 26.65 per cent in March.

Manufactured products, however, saw inflation at 2.62 per cent in April, compared to 3.07 per cent in March.

Fuel and power too saw a deflation of 2.18 per cent in April, compared to 0.20 per cent in March.

The RBI mainly takes into account retail inflation while formulating monetary policy. Data released on Tuesday showed, retail inflation eased to 3.16 per cent in April mainly due subdued prices of vegetables, fruits, pulses, and other protein-rich items. This is the lowest level of inflation since July 2019.

Easing of inflation would create enough room for the Reserve Bank to go in for another round of rate cut in the June monetary policy review.

In April, the RBI cut the benchmark policy rate by 0.25 per cent to 6 per cent. This is the second cut during the year to stimulate the economy, facing the threat of US reciprocal tariffs. The RBI sees retail inflation averaging 4 per cent in the current fiscal from the previous estimate of 4.2 per cent.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Andrew Witty, insurance giant UnitedHealth’s CEO, suddenly announced his decision to step down on Tuesday. He will be replaced by Stephen J Hemsley, who served as CEO from 2006 to 2017 and is now returning to the role, the company said in a statement carried by NBC News. Witty will serve as senior advisor to Hemsley, the statement further said. The change comes months after the fatal shooting of Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealth CEO, outside a hotel in New York in December.

Along with the resignation, the company also suspended its annual forecast on Tuesday due to surging medical costs, causing shares to plunge by 18%, a four-year low, as per news agency Reuters.

Witty is leaving due to “personal reasons”, UnitedHealth said without elaborating. His exit comes only a few weeks after UnitedHealth cut its annual forecast and reported its first earnings miss since the 2008 financial crisis, marking a major setback under Witty’s leadership.

The company has been facing sharp criticism over the heath insurance sector’s practices. It has also been investigated by the US Justice Department, NBC News said.

UnitedHealth, however, said in the statement that its “expects to return to growth in 2026”.

Brian Thompson Case Update

Luigi Mangione, who was arrested five days after former UnitedHealth CEO’s death, has urged a judge to throw out his state murder charges in the killing. He faces federal and state charges in New York and Pennsylvania in connection with the shooting.

If that doesn’t happen, they want terrorism charges dismissed and prosecutors barred from using evidence collected during Mangione’s arrest last December, including a 9 mm handgun, ammunition and a notebook in which authorities say he described his intent to “wack” an insurance executive.