Sensex perks up 174 pts ahead of Fed rate decision

Tracking firm global peers, Indian shares rallied for a third straight session today, helped by rise in energy stocks, as investors felt markets have already factored in a likely US interest rate hike.
Trading in green throughout the day, the benchmark BSE Sensex garnered 173.93 points to settle at over a one-week high of 25,494.37, while the broader NSE Nifty finished slightly above 7,750-mark.
Sentiment also got a lift from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's assurance that the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate would be less than 18 per cent and on likely scrapping of 1 per cent additional tax.

The Congress has been stalling passage of the GST bill in Rajya Sabha where the ruling NDA is in a minority.
Elsewhere, Asian and European markets were in better shape as investors saw a 25-basis point rate hike by the Fed already factored in.
The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce a hike in interest rate, first in nearly a decade, when its two-day policy-setting meeting ends later today.

"Investors believe that post Fed rate hike, markets will stabilise as the overhang of a rate hike will be shrugged off," said Gaurav Jain Director Hem Securities.
The 30-share Sensex resumed higher at 25,402.47 and continued to rise to touch the day's high of 25,572.90.

It finally settled 173.93 points or 0.69 per cent higher at 25,494.37, its highest closing since December 7. The gauge had gained over 276 points in the past two sessions.
The NSE Nifty after moving between 7,776.60 and 7,715.75, ended 50.00 points or 0.65 per cent higher at 7,750.90.
ONGC topped the gainers list among BSE stocks by surging 3.90 per cent to Rs 226.55 while RIL closed 0.22 per cent up at almost three-week high of Rs 978 as global crude rebounded from a six-year low.
Other major gainers were Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Lupin, Infosys, BHEL, Hero MotoCorp, TCS, Coal India, Sun Pharma, HDFC, SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Bajaj Auto.

M&M, however, emerged as the top loser with a fall of 5.44 per cent on concern the company's sales will be hit after the Supreme Court banned registration of diesel-run SUVs and cars having engine capacity beyond 2,000cc in Delhi and National Capital Region till March 31.
IT major Wipro witnessed profit booking after it said that recent floods in Chennai will have a "material impact" on its December quarter revenues and hurt its operating margins.
Key indexes in Asia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore,
South Korea and Taiwan moved up between 0.17 per cent and 2.61 per cent.
Besides, markets in France, Germany and the UK moved higher by 0.12 per cent to 0.48 per cent.

Back home, 22 scrips firmed up from the 30-share Sensex pack.
Major gainers were ONGC (3.99 pc), Bharti Airtel (3.83 pc), ICICI Bank (2.29 pc), Lupin (1.95 pc), Infosys (1.72 pc), NTPC (1.37 pc), GAIL (1.34 pc), TCS (1.34 pc), Sun Pharma (1.33 pc) and BHEL (1.17 pc).
However, M&M fell by 5.44 per cent followed by ITC 0.96 per cent, Wipro 0.64 per cent, Hindalco 0.32 per cent, HUL 0.30 per cent and L&T 0.14 per cent.
Broader markets also perked up with the BSE small-cap index and mid-cap rising 0.24 per cent and 0.35 per cent, respectively.
Among BSE sectoral and industry indices, telecom rose 2.42 per cent, followed by oil&gas (1.71 pc), utilities (1.51 pc), power (1.30 pc), teck (1.30 pc), bankex (1.16 pc), energy (1.12 pc), IT (1.07 pc) and finance (1.01 pc), while consumer durables fell (0.58 pc), FMCG by (0.58 pc) and auto (0.51 pc).

The market breadth remained negative as 1,426 stocks ended lower, 1,267 closed higher while 225 ruled steady. The total turnover rose further to Rs 2,722.72 crore from Rs 2,577.64 crore yesterday.