Market benchmark Sensex rose for a second straight session today by gaining 170 points as domestic investors shrugged off a widely anticipated US rate hike, while defensive buying in oil counters offset selling in banking stocks.
Nifty also reclaimed the 7,700-mark on gains in Reliance Industries and ONGC stocks as crude oil prices recovered from multi-year lows.
Sentiment took a turn for the better after European stocks rose in early trade ahead of the start of a two-day US Federal Reserve meeting, brokers said.
Meanwhile, the rupee recovered from 27-month low by rising 16 paise to 66.93 against the dollar.
The 30-share Sensex after resuming higher at 25,186.68, succumbed to profit-booking and slipped into the negative zone to hit a low of 25,075.54. Later it surged to a high of 25,342.78 before settling 170.09 points or 0.68 per cent higher at 25,320.44.
The gauge had gained 106 points in the previous session.
The 50-share NSE Nifty closed 50.85 points or 0.66 per cent higher at 7,700.90. Intra-day, it hovered between 7,705.00 and 7,625.10.
From Sensex constituents, RIL ended 2.14 per cent higher and ONGC rose 2.06 per cent, supported by a rebound in global crude oil prices from near 11-year lows.
Other gainers included Lupin, HUL, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Axis Bank, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, L&T, Sun Pharma and Hindalco.
Sectorwise, BSE consumer durable index gained the most by rising 1.50 per cent, followed by auto (1.31 pc), FMCG (1.05 pc), realty (0.93 pc), oil&gas (0.73 pc), capital goods (0.50 pc) and healthcare (0.43 pc).
The broader markets too remained firm as investors indulged in widening bets and the BSE small-cap index rose 0.69 per cent and while mid-cap gained 0.56 per cent.
Other major gainers were Tata Steel (13.01 pc), L&T (9.06
pc), Adani Ports (7.02 pc), Axis Bank (6.83 pc), Coal India (6.71 pc), Tata Motors (5.96 pc), ICICI Bank (4.74 pc) M&M (4.65 pc), Maruti Suzuki (4.57 pc), RIL (4.23 pc), ONGC (3.28 pc), BHEL (3.25 pc), GAIL (2.82 pc), Lupin (2.66 pc), Cipla (2.19 pc), TCS (1.93 pc) and Bajaj Auto (1.88 pc).
Among BSE sectoral indices, metal rose 8.79 per cent followed by capital goods 6.73 per cent, realty (6.17 pc), PSU (4.95 pc), auto (4.27 pc), oil&gas (3.95 pc), infra (3.89 pc), bankex (3.62) and power (2.96 pc).
Buying by retail investors too re-emerged in broader markets helping the mid-cap and small-cap indexes gain 3.47 per cent and 3.35 per cent, respectively.
In Asia, Japan and Hong Kong rose by up to 7.16 per cent, while Chinese shares fell by 0.63 per cent.
European stocks were also higher with key indices in France and the UK rising up to 2.93 per cent.
