(Updates for morning trade)

By Vivek Kumar M

Oct 29 (Reuters) -

India's equity benchmarks edged up in early trade on

Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision,

while asset managers fell after regulators proposed reducing

exit loads for investors.

The Nifty 50 rose 0.14% to 25,971.6 and the BSE

Sensex gained 0.05% to 84,671.11 as of 9:51 a.m. IST,

with 10 of 16 major sectors advancing.

Mid-and small-cap indexes were little changed.

Most Asian markets advanced on Wednesday, with MSCI's

broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

up 0.6% amid renewed optimism over artificial

intelligence.

Investor focus turns to the U.S. Federal Reserve's

policy decision later in the day, with markets pricing in a

99.9% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut, according to CME's

FedWatch Tool.

"While the Fed is expected to cut rates by a quarter point,

traders will scrutinise the accompanying statement and Chair

Jerome Powell's comments for signals about future cuts," said

Devarsh Vakil, head of prime research at HDFC Securities.

Lower U.S. rates typically make emerging markets like India

more attractive to foreign investors.

Overseas investors bought Indian shares worth 103.4

billion rupees ($1.18 billion) on Tuesday, provisional data

showed, marking their biggest single-day purchase in months.

Vakil said that a decisive move outside 25,700-26,100 points

is crucial for the benchmark Nifty to get out of the ongoing

consolidation.

HDFC Asset Management Company and Nippon Life

India Asset Management dropped about 4.5% each, among

top five losers on Nifty 500.

India's markets

regulator

on Tuesday proposed measures to simplify mutual fund fee

structure, including a plan to discontinue 5 basis points charge

that mutual funds posed on equity funds where exit load is

levied.

Blue Dart Express jumped 10.7% after posting a

29.5% rise in September-quarter profit.