Markets Drift Higher For 3rd Session

Mumbai: Stock markets closed higher for the third straight day on Wednesday driven by fresh FII buying and gains in consumer durables, capital goods and realty shares ahead of the key US Fed policy to be announced later in the day. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 147.79 points or 0.20 per cent to settle at 75,449.05. During the day, it advanced 267.12 points or 0.35 per cent to 75,568.38. The NSE Nifty rose 73.30 points or 0.32 per cent to 22,907.60.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Zomato, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Ports, NTPC, State Bank of India and Reliance Industries were among the major gainers. On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, ITC, Infosys, Sun Pharma, Maruti, HCL Tech, and Nestle were among the laggards.

“The domestic market continued its positive momentum, as part of the recent correction was justified by valuation. The sustainability of the relief rally depends on a revival in fundamentals. The recovery was broad-based, while metal stocks gained attention after the government decided to impose a tax on steel imports.

“In light of trade uncertainties and growth concerns, today’s FED policy and the commentary will be keenly watched by investors to get cues on interest rates,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said Key factors driving the market include FII buying and softness in the US dollar index, Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

The BSE midcap gauge jumped 2.28 per cent and smallcap index climbed 2.17 per cent. Among BSE sectoral indices, realty surged 2.75 per cent, industrials (2.55 per cent), services (2.48 per cent), power (2.30 per cent), utilities (2.16 per cent), telecommunication (1.48 per cent) and commodities (1.44 per cent).