Benchmark indices ended higher for the seventh straight session, with Nifty50 reclaiming 11,500 levels on the back of sustained buying in midcaps, smallcaps, banking stocks and blue chips like RIL, ITC, Infosys, NTPC, and Bharti Airtel, ahead of the two-day US Fed meeting which starts later today.

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Meanwhile, Asian shares held tight ranges were broadly supported near six-month highs on expectations the US central bank might strike a dovish tone.

Stocks had run up last week on expectations that the current coalition government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi would return to power after the general election starting next month. Both the indexes had gained 3.9 percent over the past six sessions.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 38,363, up 268 points, while the broader NSE Nifty50 settled at 11,532, up 70 points. Meanwhile, broader markets outperformed benchmark indices with Nifty MidCap gaining 0.6 percent and Nifty SmallCap up over 1 percent.

Bharti Infratel, HCL Tech, Reliance Industries, Infosys and Zee Ent were top gainers on Nifty50, gaining in the range of 2-3 percent, while, JSW Steel, Eicher Motors, HeroMoto Corp, L&T, and Maruti Suzuki fell the most on the index.

Among sectors, Nifty PSU Banks rose the most, up nearly 2 percent followed by Nifty IT, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Bank.

Nifty Auto was the only sector that ended lower. TVS Motors, Eicher Motors, HerMotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, Ashok Leyland and Bajaj Auto dragged the index.

Reliance Industries, which ended 2 percent higher, hit its all-time high of Rs 1,378 in intra-day trade. The stock also hit the market capitalisation of $125 billion during the day.

Shares of IT services company Mindtree fell nearly 2 percent after conglomerate L&T bought a 20.32 percent stake in the company for Rs 3,269 from Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) founder VG Siddhartha. L&T also fell 2 percent, making it one of the top losers on Nifty, post the development.

Shares of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications were locked in the upper circuit after his elder brother Mukesh Ambani, the country’s richest man, helped pay off debt owed to Sweden’s Ericsson.

Globally, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was virtually flat, easing back from its highest level since September 4 hit earlier in the session.

Japan’s Nikkei average and Australian stocks dipped 0.1 percent. In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite slipped 0.2 percent and the blue-chip CSI 300 fell 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was almost flat.

-With inputs from Reuters.

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First Published:Mar 19, 2019 3:56 PM IST