Stock market today: The domestic equity market traded in a narrow range on Wednesday and managed to end in positive territory for the third day in a row. The S&P BSE Sensex settled at 63,228.51, up 85 points, or 0.14 per cent while the NSE's Nifty closed at 18,755.90, up 40 points, or 0.21 per cent. Tata Steel (up over 2 per cent) was the top gainer on the Sensex, followed by Tata Motors and Power Grid. Bajaj Finance, on the other hand, was the biggest loser. 

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"Markets exercised caution ahead of the outcome of the US FOMC meeting on Thursday, but selective buying in metals and oil and gas stocks helped key indices log gains for the third straight session. Technically, the Nifty took support near 18,700 and bounced back sharply but failed to surpass the important level of 18,775. The short-term formation of the market is still on the bullish side, but below 18,700, we could see a quick intraday correction. For traders, 18,775 would be the immediate breakout level to watch out for, and above the same, the index could rally till 17,900–17,950. On the other side, below 18,700, the selling pressure is likely to accelerate, and below the same, the index could retest the level of 18,600–18,575," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

Broader market indices 

The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 both ended higher by 0.21 per cent and 0.12 per cent, respectively. Except Nifty Smallcap 50, all indices in the broader market ended in green in Wednesday's trade. 

Sectoral watch 

Nifty Bank, Financial Services, and IT ended lower. Nifty Bank was down by 0.21 per cent at 43,988. Among 10 IT stocks, six declined.

"Bank Nifty is concerned; the index has closed in the negative today. It has been trading in a narrow range around the 20-day moving average (44000). We expect the Bank Nifty to hold on to this support and resume its upmove. "The short-term target is placed at 44,500," said Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas. 

Buzzing stocks 

Zydus LifeSciences gained nearly 3 per cent as the US FDA gave it a clean chit for a unit. Reports of promoters infusing money helped Vodafone Idea gain nearly 3 per cent. 

FMCG stocks inched higher; Tata Consumer rose 5 per cent and Nestle was at a record high. Steel stocks such as Tata Steel and JSW Steel also soared ahead of the US Fed decision, as both were up 2 per cent each. Rain Industries was the top Midcap gainer, up over 5 per cent. 

Conversely, Balrampur Chini experienced profit booking after the recent run; the stock closed over 2 per cent lower. Bandhan Bank, Canara Bank, and RBL were the top midcap losers. Ipca Laboratories shares slipped over 2 per cent as the US FDA issued 11 observations for the Ratlam API Unit.

Global Market 

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended lower, while Tokyo settled in the green. Equity markets in Europe were trading with gains. The US markets ended in positive territory on Tuesday.

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