Sensex up 250pts, Nifty above 17,150; IT index rise 1%

Domestic markets opened higher in Wednesday’s trade, as investors pinned hopes on end of monetary tightening cycle ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision due later today.

Key indices Nifty50 climbed over 50 points to trade above 17,150 levels, whereas the S&P BSE Sensex advanced over 250 points to trade around 58,361 levels.

The strength spilled across broader markets too, as Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices gained up to 0.3 per cent. Volatility gauge, India VIX, meanwhile, slipped over 2 per cent.

All sectors started trade in a positive territory, with Nifty IT index gaining the most – over 1 per cent. While HDFC Life, and SBI Life were the top gainers in the Nifty50 index, Asian Paints, and Coal India were the top laggards.

Among individual stocks, shares of Tata Motors gained over 1 per cent after the automaker hiked prices commercial vehicles (CV) range by 5 percent starting April 1.

Besides, shares of Hindustan Zinc surged over 3 per cent after the company decided to pay Rs 10,990 crore ($1.3 billion) to its shareholders, a fourth dividend this year.