Sensex, Nifty open higher; rate sensitive stocks lead gains 

Stock market today: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened higher on Wednesday amid positive global cues. Sensex gained 402 pts to 74,406 and Nifty rose 121 pts to 23,237. Market cap of BSE-listed firms stood at Rs 473.05 lakh crore ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision today. Asian stocks were trading higher with Nikkei rising 269 pts to 63,753. Taiwan Weighted gained 483 pts to 45,993.

Stocks such as ITC, BEL, M&M, SBI, Reliance Industries and HCL Technologies were the top Sensex gainers today, rising up to 1.57%.

NTPC and HDFC Bank were the only Sensex losers, falling up to 0.30%.

Rate sensitive stocks such as auto shares and banking stocks were trading in the green. BSE auto index surged 469 pts to 59,590 and BSE bankex rose 363 pts to 63,519.

BSE consumer durables index too rose 234 pts to 60,917, lending strength to the broader market.

A fall in brent crude prices also boosted sentiment in Indian equities. Brent crude futures fell 93 cents, or 0.86%, to $107.82 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures declined 97 cents, or 0.92%, to $104.86 a barrel.

On Tuesday, both benchmarks had risen over $3, reaching their highest levels since May 19 amid concerns over supply disruptions and Saudi Arabia’s reduction in oil shipments to Europe.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities said, "We believe that as long as the market trades below 23,300/74,400, the correction is likely to continue. On the downside, the Nifty could slip towards 23,000, while the Sensex may move towards 73,700. Further weakness could drag the indices towards 22,900–22,800/73,500–73,200. On the flip side, a sustained move above 23,300/74,400 could trigger a pullback towards 23,400–23,450/74,500–74,800. The overall market texture remains volatile. Hence, level-based trading with strict risk management would be an ideal strategy for day traders."

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments said, "In today’s meeting, the Fed is most likely to raise interest rates by 25 bp. However, this is unlikely to impact the market since it is already discounted by the market. More market moving will be the Fed commentary on the evolving macro-outlook and the likely rate action going forward."

Previous session 
Sensex slumped 777.94 points or 1.04 per cent to close at 74,003.82, while the NSE Nifty50 index declined 279.50 points or 1.19 per cent to end at 23,118.60.