Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 23 (ANI): The Indian stock markets' key indices, Sensex and Nifty, were trading with a gain of nearly one per cent in the early afternoon session on Monday after the government announced a slew of fiscal measures on the weekend to ease inflationary pressure.

The 30 stock SP BSE Sensex was trading 462.48 points or 0.85 per cent higher at 54,788.87 points at 12.08 pm, against its previous session's close at 54,326.39 points.

Earlier, Sensex started the day on a positive note at 54,459.95 points. However, it witnessed volatility in the morning session. It slipped into the red in the early morning session hitting a low of 54,191.55 points. The markets rebounded later in the day touching a high of 54,826.77 points.

This is the second consecutive session of a strong rally in the market. The benchmark Sensex had gained 1534.16 points or 2.91 per cent on Friday, the previous trading day.

The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange was trading 96.45 points or 0.59 per cent higher at 16,362.60 points against its previous session's close at 16,266.15 points.

The Nifty had gained 456.75 points or 2.89 per cent on Friday.

The markets have rallied after the government announced a slew of measures on the weekend to ease inflationary pressure.

On Saturday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cut in excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 a litre. The duty cut has significantly brought down retail prices of these fuels. The retail price of petrol has come down by Rs 9.5 per litre and diesel has become cheaper by Rs 7 a litre. The move would help ease inflation, which has been above the Reserve Bank of India's tolerance limit for the past several months.

Auto, FMCG and capital goods stocks rallied after the government's move to ease inflationary pressure.

Maruti Suzuki surged 4.61 per cent to Rs 7937. MahindraMahindra soared 2.86 per cent to Rs 930.50. LT climbed 2.87 per cent to Rs 1656.25.

Nestle India soared 2.76 per cent to Rs 17329.15. Hindustan Unilever climbed 2.49 per cent to Rs 2383.50.

Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Titan and Kotak Bank were among the major Sensex gainers.

Tata Steel tumbled 11.87 per cent to Rs 1031.30. ITC, Power Grid Corporation, UltraTech Cement and Reliance Industries were among the other Sensex losers. (ANI)