Sensex ends 267 points higher, Nifty near 22,600 ahead of Fed mins

Meanwhile, minutes from the Fed's latest policy meeting will offer clues about the rate cut trajectory in the world's largest economy.

From the pack, , Reliance Industries, , , and were the top gainers, rising 1-2% each. On the flip side, , JSW Steel, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and Tata Steel closed in the red.

Among individual stocks, Paytm shares closed 4.8% higher after hitting a 5% upper circuit following the Q4 results. Fintech major Paytm's losses widened to Rs 550 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2024, compared to Rs 169 crore in the same quarter last year.

US rate-sensitive IT index rose 0.7%, led by the gains in Coforge, LTTS, and Infosys. Indian earn a bulk of their revenue from US clients.

Fast-moving consumer goods companies, which are seen as defensive bets during volatility, rose 1.43%, with Dabur, Tata Consumers Products, and Hindustan Unilever leading gains.

Meanwhile, the of all on BSE surged by Rs 1.36 lakh crore to Rs 415.98 lakh crore. The market breadth was skewed in the favour of the bears. About 1,901 stocks gained, 1,932 declined, and 115 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Experts View
"Despite mixed global market sentiments ahead of the minutes, Indian markets exhibited a subtle positive trend. Investors are optimistic about stable Q4 earnings and easing election jitters that had previously increased volatility," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

"Interest in the FMCG sector has risen due to the potential for an early onset of monsoon. Nevertheless, markets may underperform in the short term as they wait for the election outcome, with FIIs staying on the sidelines," Nair added.

Aditya Gaggar, Director of Progressive Shares, said, "Back-to-back green candles on the daily chart indicate a strong bullish momentum and now the immediate hurdle for the Index stands at its previous high i.e. 22,780 while the support level shifted higher at 22,470."

Global Markets
Share markets fell on Wednesday as stronger-than-expected inflation in Britain offset investor hopes that AI-heavyweight Nvidia could meet sky-high expectations, with the market also waiting for possible clues on when the U.S. Federal Reserve will begin to bring down interest rates.

European stocks dipped 0.3% in early trading, after earlier being poised for slim gains. Britain's FTSE 100 led losses among regional markets with an 0.6% drop.

S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were flat. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, was also flat. Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan firmed 0.3%, having already climbed for four straight weeks to reach a two-year top.

Oil Slips
Oil prices fell on Wednesday, retreating for a third straight day on expectations that the Federal Reserve might keep U.S. interest rates higher for longer due to sustained inflation, potentially affecting fuel use in the world's largest consumer.

Brent crude futures were down 64 cents, or 0.8%, at $82.24 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) dropped 65 cents, or 0.8%, to $78.01. Both benchmarks shed more than 1% earlier in the session.

Rupee Closes Higher
The Indian rupee ended slightly stronger on Wednesday after dollar demand from local importers prompted the currency to shed gains from a six-week high hit earlier in the session.

The rupee closed at 83.28 against the U.S. dollar, marginally stronger than its close at 83.3050 in the previous session. The rupee climbed to an intra-day peak of 83.2250, its highest since April 10.

(With inputs from agencies)