Gains in banking and auto counters following superior Q4 results and vaccine optimism buoyed domestic global markets for the third day in a row on Wednesday ahead of the US Fed policy outcome later today.
The BSE flagship index Sensex ignored a weak set of global cues and risks arising from Covid-19's second wave to surge 790 points to 49,734. ICICI Bank, HDFC twins, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank and SBI were the key index contributors.
Meanwhile, NSE Nifty settled the day at 14,865, up 212 points with 35 constituents in the green and 15 in the red.
In the 30-pack Sensex, Bajaj Finance emerged the best performer as it rose 8.3% to Rs 5,279 following a 42% jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,347 crore during the fourth quarter of FY21.
It was trailed by IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank and Kotak Bank that gained in the range of 3-5%.
On the flip side, Nestle India, HCL Tech, L&T, TCS and DRL were among the top losers.
The broader markets also settled in the green although underperformed the benchmark. Nifty Midcap 100 index added 1.11% while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained 0.64%.
In the sectoral space, Nifty Realty, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Metals turned out to be the day's losers. Bank Nifty with a gain of 3.02% was the best gainer ahead of the expiry of F&O contracts. It was trailed by Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Financial Services and Nifty PSU Bank indices which gained between 2.5-3%.
In stock-specific moves, shares of TVS Motor Company rallied 14.06% to settle at Rs 645.90 on the BSE after the company's Q4 numbers beat analysts' estimates. The scrip touched intra-day high of Rs 661.10, its 52-week high.
Shares of Anupam Rasayan also hit a 52-week high of Rs 666 in intra-day session today after it bagged an order worth Rs 1,100 crore from a multinational life sciences firm. The scrip finally settled the day at Rs 640.10, up 1.82%.
SBI jumped 2.95% after the bank's board approved raising $2 billion through a public offer or private placement.
Shares of Hindustan Unilever and Bajaj Auto ended the day 1.07% and 2.76% higher, respectively, ahead of their March quarter results tomorrow.
That apart, Zomato filed a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Sebi to raise Rs 8,250 crore through its Initial Public Offering (IPO). The IPO offer includes a fresh issue by the company worth Rs 7,500 crore, and an offer for sale by the selling shareholder Info Edge.
Meanwhile, in other news.
As the Covid pandemic continued to rage havoc in the country, many economists flagged risks from the same to India's economic recovery.
For instance, S&P Global, which has a long-term credit rating of 'BBB-' on India, just one notch above junk, said it may have to revise its base-case assumption of 11% growth over fiscal 2021/2022 if wider containment measures to contain Covid are re-imposed. The rating agency believes the Covid outbreak poses downside risks to GDP and heightens the possibility of business disruptions.
In a recent note, those at IHS Markit suggest that they expect the Indian economy (as measured by GDP) to grow at 9.6 per cent in FY22. Maharashtra’s lockdown, it said, represents a significant dampener on growth, as the state accounts for 16 per cent of the national GDP.
Lastly, an update on the global markets.
World shares cosied up close to record highs and the dollar and global bond yields nudged up on Wednesday, as traders waited to see if the U.S. Federal Reserve utters the dreaded ‘T’ word later - tapering of its mass stimulus programme.
Japan's Nikkei ended 0.2 per cent up, South Korea's Kospi declined 1 per cent, and Australia's S&P/ASX200 index gained 0.44 per cent.
European stocks were little changed amid a busy earnings-reporting day. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was flat.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index advanced 0.1%, indicating a flat-to-positive start for Wall Street later in the day.
 "Market Wrap, April 28: Here's all that happened in the markets today")
