Sensex rises 160 points, Nifty above 12,900

The Nifty registered intra days high and low at 12,962.10 and 12,880.45 respectively. Yesterday, Sensex closed 194 points higher at 44,077 and Nifty gained by 67 points to 12,926.

A strengthening rupee further boosted investor confidence, traders said. The 50-stock NSE Nifty crossed 13,000 for the first time in history.

HDFC Bank followed by Maruti, ONGC, Axis Bank, L&T, Titan, ICICI Bank and PowerGrid were among the top gainers on Sensex.

Reliance Industries advanced 3 per cent after the country's fair trade regulator approved its deal to buy Future Group's retail assets.

Global cues are strong on Wednesday morning with stock markets in the United States closing with gains and Asian peers surging higher during the early hours of trade.

The majority of the markets across the globe are seen riding higher on the optimism that the encouraging results by the clinical trial of the vaccine will soon put an end to damage caused by Coronavirus and the economy would find its mojo back. However, major financial stocks declined after new recommendations by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices jumped up to 1.37 per cent. Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap rose 1.31 and 2.06 per cent, respectively.

The rupee appreciated by 5 paise to settle at 74.11 against the USA dollar.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended with significant gains.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 4,738.44 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.85 per cent to Dollars 46.45 per barrel.