Sensex rallies 346 pts, Nifty near 17,100 on firm global markets

Benchmark Sensex rose by 346 points while Nifty closed near the 17,100 level on Wednesday amid fresh foreign fund inflows and firm trends in global markets.

Buying in services, realty, commodities and auto stocks also added to the positive momentum.

The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 346.37 points or 0.60 per cent to finish at 57,960.09. During the day, it jumped 510.48 points or 0.88 per cent to 58,124.20.

The broader NSE Nifty climbed 129 points or 0.76 per cent to end at 17,080.70.

Among the Sensex firms, HCL Technologies, Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and Mahindra & Mahindra were the major gainers.

Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Asian Paints were the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Japan and Hong Kong ended in the green while Shanghai finished lower.

European markets were quoting in the positive territory during the afternoon trade. The US markets ended lower on Tuesday.

"The home market is being impelled to stay non-sticky in both directions by the continuous instability in the international market. The domestic market's favourable ending was supported by a significant upswing in both the US and European markets.

"This volatility is expected to continue until the global banking system gets fully recovered from the turmoil, along with a confirmation of the Fed's decision to pause rate hikes," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The Sensex ended 40.14 points or 0.07 per cent lower at 57,613.72 on Tuesday. The Nifty went lower by 34 points or 0.20 per cent to finish at 16,951.70.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude advanced 0.38 per cent to USD 78.95 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) turned buyers on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,531.13 crore, according to exchange data.

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