Markets maintain momentum for eighth day; Nifty nears 18k

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty extended rally for the eighth straight session on Wednesday, propelled by intense buying in IT, healthcare and auto stocks amid sustained foreign fund inflows.

A strengthening rupee and positive opening in European markets further bolstered sentiment, traders said.

TCS will kick start the Q4 earnings season later in the day. Industrial Production data for February and March inflation rates are scheduled to be announced post-market hours.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 235.05 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 60,392.77. During the day, it jumped 279.92 points or 0.46 per cent to 60,437.64.

The broader NSE Nifty gained 90.10 points or 0.51 per cent to finish at 17,812.40.

Among the Sensex firms, Infosys, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, HDFC, Tata Consultancy Services, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank were the biggest winners.

On the other hand, PowerGrid, NTPC, Nestle, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India and ITC were among the laggards.

"The domestic market exhibited cautiousness in anticipation of the release of various economic data and the upcoming Q4 earnings season. The IT sector drove the optimism in the market as investors await the earnings releases of sector majors," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Japan and Shanghai ended in the green, while Hong Kong settled lower.

Equity markets in Europe were also trading with gains during the afternoon trade. The US markets ended mostly lower in overnight trade on Tuesday.

The rupee closed 3 paise higher at 82.09 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday.

The Sensex rose 311.21 points or 0.52 per cent to finish at 60,157.72 on Tuesday. The Nifty gained 98.25 points or 0.56 per cent to settle at 17,722.30.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.35 per cent to USD 85.91 per barrel.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) further bought equities worth Rs 342.84 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.