The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Wednesday soared by 375 points as foreign funds stepped up activity on the back of strong global rally sparked by US Federal Reserve’s positive outlook for the economy. 

IT sector hogged the limelight in response to the government’s announcement of restrictions on the external commercial borrowings (ECBs) that led to a sharp fall in the rupee against the dollar. 

The BSE barometer opened 155 points up and ended the day at 15,307.98, a rise of 375.21 points or 2.51 per cent over Tuesday’s close of 14,932.77. This is the third biggest gain so far in the calendar year and the eighth largest in the BSE history.

Similarly, the broad-based S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) jumped by 105.75 points or 2.43 per cent to close at 4,462.10 from previous close of 4,356.35. Attributing the rally to hectic shortcovering by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), which are net sellers so far in the month, market players said the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 5.25 per cent and positive outlook for the US economy had an impact on the market.