New Delhi, Apr 8 (IANS): After sliding for three consecutive sessions, Indian equity indices settled high on Friday as Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept policy rates unchanged, besides retaining "accomodative" stance.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) retained its key lending rate during the first monetary policy review of FY23.

Accordingly, the MPC of the central bank maintained the repo rate, or short-term lending rate, for commercial banks, at 4 per cent.

Sensex settled at 59,447.18 points, up 412.23 points or 0.70 per cent, whereas Nifty at 17,784.35 points, up 144.80 points or 0.82 per cent.

"Market was cautious during the last 2-3 days ahead of the RBI meeting and its future policy stance. Measures being in-line with market expectations led to a relief rally. The focus has shifted to the Q4 earnings season, which will start next week, initiated by the IT & Banking sector," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.