Mumbai, Oct 9 (IANS): Indian equity indices were trading higher on Wednesday before the monetary policy decision announcement from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

At 9.48 a.m., Sensex was up 251 points or 0.31 per cent at 81,873 and Nifty was up 81 points or 0.34 per cent at 25,097.

The market trend remains positive. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,855 shares were in the green and 396 shares were in the red.

In the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, SBI, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, TCS and Infosys were the top gainers. ITC, Nestle, Reliance, JSW Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC, HUL, L&T and ICICI Bank were the top losers.

Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst at Choice Broking said, "After a flat opening, Nifty can find support at 24,950 followed by 24,850 and 24,700. On the higher side, 25,050 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 24,150 and 25,200."

Mixed trading is taking place in the markets of Asia. The markets of Tokyo and Bangkok are bullish, while the markets of Shanghai, Hong Kong, Jakarta and Seoul are in the red. The US stock markets closed in the green on Tuesday.

"BJP’s victory in Haryana has come as a morale booster for the party and confidence booster for markets," other experts said.

They further said, "The sentiments will get a further boost if the MPC decides to change the monetary stance from accommodative to neutral and sound a bit dovish today. A rate cut, however, is unlikely since food inflation continues to be a worry."

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 5,729 crore on October 8, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 7,008 crore on the same day.