The markets started Samvat 2078 on an upbeat note in the backdrop of a sharp cut in excise duty on fuel prices and a scale down in its bond-buying program by the US Federal stimulus as per expected.
At the end of its two-day meeting, the US Fed said monthly $120 billion purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities would be trimmed by $15 billion a month.
Sensex ends 295.70 points higher or 0.49% at 60067.62, and the Nifty added 91.80 points or 0.51% at 17921. About 2535 shares have advanced, 514 shares declined, and 146 shares are unchanged.
Among the Sensex 30 stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra jumped over 3 per cent to 875, and ITC advanced 2 per cent to Rs 227. Bajaj Auto, Larsen & Toubro, Kotak Bank, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank and Nestle India were the other prominent gainers.
ICICI Bank, however, slipped 0.7 per cent and was the only notable loser among the Sensex stocks.
Among the sectors, the auto and PSU Bank indices added over a percent each while the midcap and smallcap indices are up 0.5-1 percent each.