Stock Market Highlights: Sensex, Nifty Gain For Third Day Ahead Of Fed Decision

The benchmark stock indices ended higher for the third consecutive day on Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision.

The NSE Nifty 50 ended 73.30 points or 0.32% higher at 22,907.60. while the BSE Sensex closed 147.79 points or 0.2% up at 75,449.05. After witnessing range-bound intraday activity at higher levels, the Nifty surged 0.47% to 22,940.70, while the Sensex gained 0.35% to 75,568.38.

The Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates steady later on Wednesday, buying time to assess how President Donald Trump's economic policies impact an economy facing both lingering inflationary pressures and mounting growth concerns.

The short-term texture of the market is still on the positive side, but due to temporary overbought conditions, a range-bound activity in the near future is possible, according to Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities.

Shares of HDFC Bank Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd. and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. contributed the most to the Nifty's gains in terms of point contribution.

Infosys Ltd., ITC Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Tech Mahindra Ltd. weighed on the index the most. On the Nifty, 31 stocks advanced, while 19 fell.

Citi Research issued a cautious note on India's IT stocks despite sharp correction as it believes global macro uncertainty is looming over their multiples.

Ten out of the 12 sectoral indices on the NSE advanced, with the Nifty Realty, PSU Bank and Energy rising the most. The Nifty Bank ended higher for the fifth session in a row.

On the BSE, Realty, Industrials, Consumer Goods and Power were the top sectors in the green.

The broader indices outperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Smallcap 250 surging 1.99% and the Nifty Midcap 150 up 2.37%.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers as 3,013 stocks advanced, 1,037 declined and 116 remained unchanged on the BSE.