MUMBAI: The Sensex rose 74 points early today on buying pickup as investors shrugged off weak Asian cues after the US Fed hiked its key rate. An appreciating rupee brought more cheer. The 30-share index, which had gained 60.21 points in the previous two sessions, added 73.53 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 31,229.44. Counters such as realty, oil and gas, auto, healthcare and FMCG traded positive. The NSE Nifty too edged up by 3.25 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 9,621.40. But caution set in after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 bps and announced its plans to start paring its bond holdings. Major gainers that supported the indices were Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, NTPC, Dr Reddy’s, Cipla, Hero MotoCorp, RIL, ITC and Hind Unilever, rising by up to 1.37 per cent. Traders said building of fresh long positions amid continued buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) kept bullish sentiment intact. The DIIs bought shares worth a net Rs 71.65 crore while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 161.13 crore yesterday, as per provisional data. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.43 per cent while Shanghai Composite shed 0.05 per cent in the initial session today. Hong Kong too declined 0.98 per cent. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average scaled new highs by ending 0.22 per cent yesterday
