Indian equity markets rose second-day straight as the US recorded inflation easing. Overnight, the US recorded the smallest monthly increase in retail inflation at 7.1 per cent. India's wholesale inflation also hit a 21-month low of 5.85 per cent as reported on Wednesday.
The BSE Sensex gained 145 points (0.23 per cent) to close at 62,678, while Nifty gained 52 points (0.28 per cent) to end at 18,660. The indices hit intra-day highs of 62,835 and 18,696, respectively.
In the broader markets, BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices advanced 0.59 per cent and 0.68 per cent, respectively.
Sectorally, the Nifty Realty, Metal, IT and Media indices gained over 1 per cent each, followed by Nifty Auto and Pharma indices. The Nifty FMCG index was the only loser, down 0.43 per cent.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Nestle India, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, and HUL were among the major losers. Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, NTPC, SBI, IndusInd Bank, and PowerGrid were among the winners.
On Tuesday, Markets ended high with Sensex gaining 403 points to close at 62,533, while Nifty gained 111 points to end at 18,608.
Elsewhere in Asia, shares in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Australia rose, along with US equity futures. Mainland China shares fluctuated.
European shares slipped on Wednesday, as investors were cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. FTSE 100 was down 0.39 per cent to 7,474 DAX performance was down 0.60 per cent to 14,410.
On Wednesday, the rupee gained 15 paise to settle at 82.45 (provisional) against the US dollar. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened flat at 82.60 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 82.40 and a low of 82.71.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.26 per cent to $80.47 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers in capital markets on Tuesday as they bought shares worth Rs 619.92 crore, according to exchange data.