Trading was choppy intra-day ahead of the today’s Federal Reserve Open Market Commitee meet that will help determine the pace and quantum of stimulus tapering by the US central bank.
“Market has factored in tapering by the US Federal Reserve to the tune of $10 billion.
"So any level up to $10 billion should not come in as a surprise for the markets,” said Ashu Madan, chief operating officer, Religare Securities.
The 30-share Sensex rose 158.13 points at 19,962.16 and the 50-share Nifty added 49.25 points at 5,899.45 levels.
Domestically, the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy this Friday -- the first under the new governor, Raghuram Rajan -- will be very crucial amid expectations that the central bank may hold rates steady.
The broader markets were marginally higher with mid-caps and small-caps gaining 0.1-0.4 per cent on the BSE.
The market breadth was positive. Out of 2,503 stocks traded, 1,215 stocks advanced while 1,124 stocks declined on the BSE.
FIIs
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have bought shares worth $1 billion in the past eight trading sessions following RBI governor Raghuram Rajan's recent announcements, a Deutsche Bank report said.
According to the global financial services major, FIIs have recouped around 25% of the outflows seen over the June-August period, when the country witnessed its sharpest bout of FII outflows since the global financial crisis.
They were net buyers by $912.92 million in the last eight sessions, according to data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
RUPEE
Rupee continued to trade strong in late trades amid dollar flows from foreign banks.
At 3:50PM, the partially convertible rupee was trading at 63.13 per dollar against yesterday’s close of 63.37
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