Mumbai, Nov 12 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty continued their upward momentum for the third straight day on Wednesday, supported by gains in IT and consumer durables shares amid a rally in global equities markets.

Traders said optimism over the anticipated resolution of the US government shutdown and growing expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve also bolstered the sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 595.19 points, or 0.71 per cent, to settle at 84,466.51. It gained up to 780.69 points or 0.93 per cent to hit an intraday high of 84,652.01.

The broader NSE Nifty climbed 180.85 points, or 0.70 per cent, to close at 25,875.80. During the session, it jumped 239.6 points or 0.93 per cent to hit a high of 25,934.55.

From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finserv, Adani Ports, HCL Technologies, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Trent, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Eternal, Titan and Bajaj Finance were the gainers.

On the other hand, Tata Steel, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles, Bharat Electronics, Kotak Mahindra Bank and PowerGrid were the laggards.

"Global equities rallied on renewed risk appetite, driven by optimism over the anticipated resolution of the US government shutdown and growing expectations of early Fed cuts amid signs of a cooling US labour market," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

Nair noted that emerging markets outperformed, reflecting the improvement in global sentiment.

"Indian indices mirrored this strength, with large-cap stocks leading gains, particularly in the auto, IT, and pharma sectors. Supportive domestic macro fundamentals -- including easing CPI and WPI inflation, a strong GDP outlook, and healthy H2 earnings expectations -- continue to underpin positive market momentum," he said.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark ended higher while Shanghai's SSE Composite Index closed in the negative zone.

Markets in Europe are trading largely higher. The US markets closed higher on Tuesday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.84 per cent to USD 64.61 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) offloaded equities worth Rs 803.22 crore on Tuesday while Domestic Institutional Investors bought stocks worth Rs 2,188.47 crore, according to the exchange data.

On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 335.97 points to settle at 83,871.32, while the NSE Nifty climbed 120.60 points to close at 25,694.95. PTI HG HVA