Closing Bell: Sensex ends 66 points higher at 39,113, Nifty closes flat at 11,691

The BSE benchmark Sensex ended 66 points higher on Wednesday after a highly volatile session ahead of the US Federal Reserve meet outcome.

After rallying nearly 400 points during the day, the BSE gauge settled 66.40 points, or 0.17 per cent, higher at 39,112.74. The index hit an intra-day high of 39,435.80 and a low of 38,881.05.

The broader NSE Nifty closed almost flat at 11,691.45. During the day, the index touched a high of 11,802.50 and a low of 11,625.10.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, NTPC, HDFC twins, PowerGrid and ONGC, rising up to 4.60 per cent.

On the other hand, Yes Bank, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, IndusInd Bank, M&M, Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Auto fell up to 5.54 per cent.

In the previous session Tuesday, the BSE gauge settled 85.55 points, or 0.22 per cent, higher at 39,046.34, while the Nifty closed 19.35 points, or 0.17 per cent, higher to end at 11,691.50.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack in early trade included Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, Vedanta, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, HDFC twins and RIL, rising up to 3.46 per cent.

While, Bharti Airtel and Hero MotoCorp were the only losers in index, shedding up to 0.35 per cent.

“The markets also failed to draw any sense of relief with the Reserve Bank of India’s statement that it will infuse Rs 12,500 crore of liquidity into the system through purchase of government bonds to ease prevailing liquidity conditions,” Solanki said.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hang Seng rallied 2.56 per cent, Shanghai Composite Index jumped 0.96 per cent, Nikkei soared 1.72 per cent and Kospi gained 1.24 per cent.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a mixed note in early deals. On the currency front, the Indian rupee was flat at 69.70 against the US dollar intra-day. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.55 per cent to USD 61.80 per barrel.

(With inputs from PTI)