Sensex ends 170 points up, Nifty tops 7,700 ahead of US Federal meeting

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 170 points higher, while broader CNX Nifty topped its crucial psychological level of 7,700 on Tuesday ahead of US Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting which will kick off later tonight.

Market rose after oil explorers like Reliance Industries gained tracking a rise in crude oil prices after a slump to near 11-year lows in the previous session triggered investors' buying appetite.

The 30-share index ended the day 25,320.44, up 170.09 points, while broad-based 50-share index closed at 7,700.90, up 50.85 points.

Market breadth turned positive with 18 of the 30 Sensex components ending the day in green.

Gains were led by stocks of Hindustan Unilever, Lupin and Reliance Industries which settled the day over 2 per cent higher.

Shares of IT firm Tech Mahindra tumbled 4.18 per cent, while those of Mahindra and Mahindra ended flat after gaining over 1 per cent as Mahindra group announced it will acquire Italian automotive and industrial design firm Pininfarina for an overall outgo of over 50 million Euros (nearly Rs 370 crore).

Meanwhile, banking stocks such as PNB, ICICI Bank, SBI and Canara Bank fell up to nearly 3 per cent in trade on Tuesday on worries that a widely anticipated US interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve may prompt the Reserve Bank of India to keep key interest rate unchanged for longer.

Worries over ballooning non-performing assets (NPA) of banks also continued to drag on banking stocks. NPA is a technical term for bank loans gone bad.   

Bank Nifty, the gauge for banking stocks, shed 0.94 per cent to 16,188.05, but recovered in the late trade to close at 16,398.65, up 0.29 per cent.

Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Composite ended 0.29 per cent down. Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled the day 0.17 per cent lower, while Japan's Nikkei lost 1.68 per cent.

Overnight, US stocks closed higher after energy stocks gained as crude oil prices inched up on Monday. Oil fell below $35 a barrel at some point but settled higher for the first time in seven sessions.

Lowdown on markets today

03:15 pm

Sensex at 25,331.51, up 181.16 points

Nifty at 7,702.55, up 52.50 points

12:33 pm

Sensex at 25,157.86, up 7.51 points

Nifty at 7,650.20, up 0.15 points

9:22 am

Sensex at 25,158.80, up 8.45 points

Nifty at 7,652.95, up 2.90 points