April 8 (Reuters) - Indian shares surged at open on Wednesday, tracking a global rally and a sharp drop in crude oil prices after U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran.
Investors' focus will be on the Reserve Bank of India's policy decision due at 10:00 a.m. IST, with markets watching closely for updated growth and inflation forecasts amid lingering uncertainty from the Middle East conflict.
The Nifty 50 rose 3.16% to 23,855.15 and the Sensex jumped 3.58% to 77,290.63 as of 9:15 a.m. IST.
All 16 major sectors advanced. The broader small-caps and mid-caps climbed 3.7% and 3.4%, respectively.
Other Asian markets climbed 4.5%, while crude prices slipped to $95 a barrel after Trump said the U.S. would suspend bombing and attacks on Iran for two weeks and that talks were progressing toward a long-term peace agreement.
The development eases near-term fears of escalation of the Middle East conflict, which had pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel, posing risks to the economy, corporate earnings and financial markets of India, the world's third-largest oil importer.
Against this backdrop, the RBI is widely expected to keep its interest rates unchanged, as policymakers assess the fallout from the Iran war.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
