Winning spree intact; Sensex soars 287 points

Markets finished the session on a firm note as the Fed kept the benchmark rates unchanged post its two-day FOMC meet. Meanwhile, the advancement of Monsoons and favorable macroeconomic parameters coupled with a strengthened rupee further lifted the sentiments of the investors.

Provisionally, the Sensex soared 287 points to end at 27,119 levels and the Nifty surged 85 points to close at 8,177 levels.

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(updated at 1:15 PM)

Markets have extended the rally in the late trades on sustained buying among the blue-chip companies led by Reliance Industries on optimism about company's plans to start 4G phone services in December.  

At 1.15 PM, the Sensex gained 339 points at 27,172 and the Nifty climbed 95 points to 8,186.

RIL, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, ONGC and SBI are trading higher between 2-5% on the BSE.

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(updated at 12:45 PM)

Benchmark shares indices continued to trade with strong gains, shrugging off weak Asian cues, after the US Fed at its two-day policy meet kept its key interest rate on hold improved sentiment.

At 12:45PM, the 30-share Sensex gained 244 points at 27,077 and the Nifty rose 64 points to 8,155.

A broad-based rally is evident on the bourses led by a stellar performance by Reliance Industries which is rallying higher for the fifth straight session post the AGM on optimism about company's plans to start 4G phone services in December.

RUPEE

The rupee was trading higher at 63.85 compared to its previous close of 64.12 after the American currency weakened overseas on the back of sustained selling by exporters and banks while gains in domestic equities also aided sentiment.

COMMODITIES

Nymex crude for July delivery was trading marginally lower at $59.46 even as the US Federal Reserve kept the outlook for interest rate increases uncertain.

Gold for August delivery was trading higher at $1,187 after the dollar came under pressure as the Federal Reserve indicated it may hike US rates later than market expectations and cut economic growth forecasts.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Except for the Realty index all other sectoral indices were trading in the green. BSE Oil and Gas index was the top sectoral gainer up 1.9% followed by Consumer Durables among others.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was up 3.4%. The stock has been leading the rally after the company at its AGM announced grand plans to foray into telecom sector and commence 4G phone services in December.

HDFC Bank is up 1.2%. The private banking major has slashed base rate by 0.15%, a move which will lower EMIs for its borrowers. Mortgage lender HDFC was up 0.7%.

SBI was up 1.3%. The PSU banking major is targeting 12% growth in credit in the state this fiscal, banking on a turnaround in the mining sector which it expects to happen by the third quarter.

Yes Bank was down 0.5%. The Bombay High Court on Wednesday termed the appointment of two directors on YES Bank's board as invalid and stated that the proposed appointments of three others - Rajat Monga, Sanjay Palve and Pralay Mondal - were void.

Tata Steel was down 0.6% on profit taking after sharp gains in the previous session. Industrial action by workers at Tata Steel UK has been suspended until Saturday so that a new offer on pensions can be considered.

Cipla has dropped nearly 1% on reports that Cipla business head Sameer Goel has resigned from his post.

Maruti Suzuki was marginally up. The auto major has signed a deal with Malaysian carmaker Proton for the assembly and sale of an entry-level model in its domestic market.

In the broader markets, BSE Midcap index was up 0.5% and Smallcap index gained 1%.

The market breadth continues to remain robust with 1,545 shares advancing and 921 shares declining on the BSE.