Sensex up over 199 points on hopes of GST passage

The domestic equity markets staged a strong comeback after Tuesday's losses in early trade as the BSE Sensex recovered by about 144 points in early trade, following widespread buying amid rising hopes over passage of the GST bill in Parliament.

Moreover, sustained foreign fund inflows and a mixed trend at other Asian markets on caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision later in the day, influenced market sentiment.

The Sensex, which had lost 118.82 points in Tuesday's trade, was trading higher by 199.41 points or 0.71% higher at 28,175.93.

The 50-share NSE Nifty recaptured the 8,600-level, by soaring 56.05 points or 0.65% at 8,646.70. From the Sensex pack, Maruti Suzuki India, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, HDFC Ltd, GAIL, SBI, ONGC, Power Grid, NTPC, TCS, M&M, Bharti Airtel and Larsen and Toubro were major gainers, rising by up to 2.64%.

However, Dr Reddy's continued its slide and plunged 9.72% to Rs 2,999.85 as international rating agencies downgraded the stock after its consolidated net profit declined by 80% for the June quarter.

In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei rose 2.32%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.16% in early trade. Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.62%.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.10% down in Tuesday's trade.

Bombay Stock Exchange - BSE

National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE)