The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex gained more than 100 points in early morning trade on Wednesday, thanks to the government's decision to relax Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms for various industries.

Shares of telecom companies gained the most as the government allowed foreign companies like Vodafone, Telenor and Sistema to run operations in India without requiring an Indian partner. Currently, foreign companies can hold only up to 74 per cent stake in local telecom companies.

Bharti Airtel saw its shares gaining 1.2 per cent, while Idea Cellular's shares jumped 3.5 per cent. Shares of Reliance Communications Ltd and Tata Teleservices gained 3.7 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.

However, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) decision to hike short-term interest rates to arrest the rupee's fall continued to keep banking shares under pressure. Thirteen of 14 banking stocks were trading lower on the BSE Bankex. After shedding 10 per cent on Tuesday, private-sector lender Yes Bank slipped another 3 per cent in early morning trade on Wednesday.

At 09.16 a. m. on Wednesday, the BSE Sensex was trading 106 points higher at 19,957, while the Nifty was trading at a gain of 29 points at 5,984.