Stocks found firmer ground for the second straight session on Wednesday, with the benchmark Sensex reclaiming the key 33,000-mark, ahead of US Federal Reserve's policy meet outcome.
Persistent capital inflows by foreign funds and covering-up of short positions by speculators influenced trading sentiment here, brokers said.
The BSE Sensex spurted 139 points to close at 33,136.18, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 30 points to 10,155.25.
Telecom stocks were the session's biggest gainers, with Bharti Airtel emerging on top in the Sensex pack.
After a strong opening, the BSE 30-share Sensex hit a high of 33,354.93, before closing at 33,136.18, up 139.42 points, or 0.42 per cent. It had gained 73.64 points in the previous session.
The 50-share Nifty scaled a high of 10,227.30 intra-day but succumbed to profit-booking to finish at 10,155.25, still up 30.90 points, or 0.31 per cent.
“Participants are keen to get cues on future rate hike trajectory of US Fed, while hawkish pace of tightening might add volatility in the market. If the outcome of FOMC will be in-line with expectation without any underlining caveats, we could have a relief rally in the short-term,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.