Mumbai: Stock markets started the trade on a positive note on Wednesday, continuing their previous day's rally, in line with a firm trend in global equities. The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced by 344.1 points to end at 58,418.78. The broader NSE Nifty climbed by 99.75 points to settle at 17,207.25.

The BSE benchmark had climbed by 445.73 points or 0.77 percent to settle at 58,074.68 on Tuesday. The Nifty had advanced by 119.1 points or 0.70 percent to settle at 17,107.50.

Position of stocks listed in BSE

Among the Sensex stocks, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank and Tata Steel were the major gainers.

Power Grid, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC, HDFC Bank, and HDFC were the laggards.

Performance of markets worldwide

In Asia, Seoul, Japan, Hong Kong, and Shanghai markets were trading in the green. The US markets ended significantly higher on Tuesday. Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.58 percent to USD 74.88 per barrel.

"Today's Fed decision will be crucial in determining the direction of the market," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

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