Extending gains for a third day in a row, benchmark Sensex and Nifty on Wednesday rallied over 1 per cent to end at over six-week high levels on buying in RIL, Infosys, HDFC twins and ICICI Bank, following gains in Asian equities amid hopes of a breakthrough in Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged by 740.34 points, or 1.28 per cent, to settle at over six-week high of 58683.99, a day ahead of the derivatives expiry on Thursday.

The broader NSE Nifty climbed 172.95 points or 1 per cent to settle at 17,498.25, the highest closing level since February 10.

The rupee declined by 21 paise to 75.94 against the US dollar on Wednesday as surging crude oil prices and fuel rate hikes by the oil marketing companies fanned fears of inflation and interest rate hikes.

Gas price

In a bonanza for gas producers, Reliance is set to get a record price of around $10 per MMBtu for the KG gas, while state-owned ONGC is likely to fetch more than double the rate for its Mumbai High and other fields, sources said.

Meanwhile, India Ratings has lowered its GDP growth forecast for FY23 to 7-7.2 per cent, from 7.6 per cent earlier citing the uncertainty over Russia-Ukraine war.