Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 1 (ANI): Indian stock markets opened on a cautious note on Wednesday as investors awaited the policy announcement by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra.

The Nifty 50 index opened at 24,620.55, gaining 9.45 points or 0.04 per cent, while the BSE Sensex opened at 80,173.24, recording a marginal decline of 94.38 points or 0.12 per cent.

Market experts said investors were largely in a wait-and-watch mode ahead of the outcome of the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. In recent sessions, volatility has remained high, with indices swinging between gains and losses amid tariff-related pressures.

Vikram Kasat, Head of Advisory at PL Capital, noted, 'Indian equity markets remained largely range-bound yesterday. Market volatility was elevated, with indices oscillating between gains and losses as participants adopted a wait-and-watch approach ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. In commodities, silver stood out, reaching a record Rs 1.51 lakh/kg in India. Globally, it gained 18.2 per cent over the month, supported by strong industrial demand, a weaker dollar, and safe-haven buying. With year-to-date returns of 37 per cent on MCX, Comex silver appears poised to test USD 50/oz in the near term.'

In the broader market indices on NSE, the Nifty 100 opened with gains of 0.13 per cent, Nifty Smallcap 100 rose by 0.21 per cent, while Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.42 per cent.

On the sectoral front, barring Nifty IT, all indices were trading in the green. Nifty Pharma and Nifty Auto were leading the gains, with Pharma up by more than 1 per cent. Nifty Media also surged around 1 per cent.

On the currency front, concerns remain over the Indian Rupee.

K N Dey, a currency expert, said, 'The geopolitical issues are not favorable, our trade team has returned from U.S with not so official positive news. Russia is gearing up for a possible NATO conflict, inflows in our markets are drying up, etc. Based on the above the chances of Rupee going further weaker is possible. And if there is a rate cut today it would be more negative on the Rupee.' According to RBI data, the Indian Rupee stood at INR 88.7923 against the U.S. Dollar.

Gold prices also surged to record levels, supported by global uncertainty.

Manav Modi, Analyst - Precious Metals Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said, 'Gold hit a record high as investors turned to safe-haven assets on growing risks of a U.S. government shutdown, while weak labour data strengthened expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Gold is benefiting from concerns over a weaker dollar, and political situation with standoff about a government shutdown in the U.S. and also general geopolitical uncertainty.'

In Asian markets, sentiment was largely positive. Except Japan's Nikkei 225, which declined more than 1 per cent, all other major indices were trading with gains. Taiwan's Weighted Index was up 0.92 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.87 per cent, and South Korea's KOSPI climbed 0.65 per cent. (ANI)