The key equity barometers ended a volatile session with decent gains on Wednesday amid positive global cues. The Nifty closed a tad above the 17,150 mark. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 139.91 points or 0.24% to 58,214.59. The Nifty 50 index added 44.40 points or 0.26% to 17,151.90. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.18% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.54%. The market breadth was positive.

Investors look ahead to the outcome of US Federal Reserve's meeting scheduled to release later today. Market expects Fed to raise rates by 25-basis points amid turmoil in the US banking sector.

Among the sectoral indices on the NSE, the Nifty Pharma index (up 1.04 %), the Nifty Healthcare index (up 1.03%) and the Nifty PSU bank index (up 0.83%) outperformed the Nifty50 index. Meanwhile, the Nifty Media index (down 0.32%), the Nifty Consumer Durables index (down 0.12%) and the Nifty Realty index (down 0.10%) underperformed the Nifty50 index.

Numbers to Watch:

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2023 settlement advanced 0.10% to Rs 58,635.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.14% to 103.11.

The United States 10-year bond yield slipped 0.17% to 3.600.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2023 settlement declined 31 cents or 0.41% to $75.01 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Markets in Europe and Asia advanced on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest update on its rate hike decision.

U.K. inflation data published on Wednesday showed that the consumer price inflation accelerated to 10.4% in February 2023 from 10.1% in January 2023.

Wall Street closed higher on Tuesday as widespread fears over liquidity in the banking sector abated and market participants eyed the Federal Reserve, which is expected to conclude its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday with a 25 basis-point hike to its policy rate.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday that while authorities believe they've taken sufficient action to stem liquidity problems in the banking sector, the government is prepared to guarantee even more deposits if the banking crisis gets worse.