Domestic equity markets managed to post mild gains during Wednesday's trading session as traders awaited the US Fed's policy outcome later in the evening. Headline indices saw a volatile session and ended slightly positive. However, the global and domestic cues favored the bulls, but traders were risk averse ahead of key economic events today. The BSE Sensex added 89.64 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 72,101.69, while NSE's Nifty50 rose 21.65 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 21,839.10 for the day. Broader markets were mixed as the the BSE midcap index rose marginally, while the BSE smallcap index was slightly down. Fear gauge India VIX dropped more than 4.5 per cent to 13.47-mark. Major Equity Indices opened on a positive note but traded in a close range during a cautious trading session today ahead of the FOMC policy meeting later today. The gains in the indices were led by heavyweight auto and financial companies while the Tata group stocks and other heavyweight banks were under pressure, said Avdhut Bagkar Technical and Derivatives Analyst, StoxBox. "The Nifty50 opened on a negative note and slid below the sentimental mark of 22,000. While the mid-session witnessed sharp recovery, the index failed to garner stability over 21,900 mark, finding a barrier at 21,950 and delivered a muted closing. Derivative data implies muted build up in Nifty futures, with marginal rise in open interest," he said. On a sectoral front, the Nifty Oil & Gas index rose more than a per cent, while the Nifty Realty index added 0.62 per cent. The Nifty healthcare, PSU Bank, FMCG and auto indices also managed to settle in green. Among the laggards, the Nifty Metal index shed 0.8 per cent, while the private banks, pharma and IT indices also dragged Nifty down. In the Nifty50 pack, Eicher Motors gained 4.25 per cent, while Maruti Suzuki surged 2.83 per cent. Nestle India and Power Grid rose more than 2 per cent each. State Bank of India also advanced 1.75 per cent. Tata Steel dropped 2.25 per cent, while Tata Consumer Products shed 2.08 per cent. Tata Motors, Hindalco and UPL declined up to 1.4 per cent each. Lifted by favourable global sentiment and solid direct tax collection, Indian markets rebounded, closing with modest gains. Robust FII & DII inflows sustained the market, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. "As per latest market consensus, the odds of rate cut in June have reduced. The US Fed is likely to delay the cut rate to the latter part of the year due to a resilient economy. Domestic mid & small caps are likely to lag large caps driven by premium valuations, in the short-term," he said. A total of 3,903 shares were traded on BSE on Wednesday, of which 2,183 settled with cuts. 1,608 stocks ended the session with gains while 112 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 235 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 329 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day. In the broader markets, Metro Brands surged more than 13 per cent, while Cantabil Retail India rose more than 12 per cent. LT Foods surged 11 per cent, while Praj Industries and Rainbow Children's Medicare rose 9 per cent each. Kalpataru Projects International and Chalet Hotels added 7 per cent reach. Among the laggards Rama Steel Tubes tumbled 12 per cent, while The Anup Engineering and Tata Chemicals tanked 8 per cent each. IIFL Finance declined 6 per cent, while Protean E-Gov Technologies, JSW Holdings, Credo Brands Marketing, Tata Investments Corporation and Jai Balaji Industries shed 5 per cent each for the day.