Continuing their northward movement, the benchmark indices gained another 0.5 per cent on Wednesday to settle at fresh closing peaks. The S&P BSE Sensex topped the 44,000-mark to end the day at 44,180 levels, up 227 points, or 0.52 per cent while NSE's Nifty closed the session at 12,938, up 64 points, or 0.5 per cent.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T), ICICI Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) were the top contributors to the Sensex's gain today while Infosys, TCS, and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) were the top drags.
India VIX slipped nearly 3 per cent to 19.26 levels.
Among sectoral indices on the NSE, Nifty PSU Bank index gained the most - up 3.57 per cent, followed by Nifty Auto (up 3 per cent to 8,687 levels). On the other hand, Nifty FMCG slipped over 1 per cent to 30,953 levels.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index advanced over 1 per cent to 16,344 levels and the S&P BSE SmallCap index closed at 16,054, up 144 points, or 0.9 per cent.
Global markets
Global shares stepped back on Wednesday as soft US retail sales fuelled worries that rising coronavirus cases could hit a still fragile economic recovery, dampening the euphoria from vaccine trial breakthroughs.
US S&P500 futures shed 0.4 per cent, a day after the S&P500 index lost 0.48 per cent, while Europe’s Euro Stoxx 50 futures eased 0.3 per cent.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.1 per cent, bruised by news that new coronavirus cases in Tokyo hit a record high.
In commodities, oil prices edged higher on hopes for delay in OPEC+ supply increase.
(With inputs from Reuters)
 "Sensex gains 227 pts, ends above 44K, Nifty settles at 12,938; M&M up 11%")
