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BENGALURU - Indian shares ended higher on Wednesday, led by gains in information technology and Reliance Industries, while U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen's push for a big pandemic relief package also aided investor sentiment.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index closed 0.85% up at 14,644.70, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex added 0.8% to end at 49,792.12. The Nifty and Sensex ended the previous session more than 1% higher.

At her confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Yellen urged U.S. lawmakers to "act big" on the next coronavirus relief package, adding that the benefits outweigh the costs of a higher debt burden.

"Janet Yellen's statement that the United States needs a big stimulus push has pumped markets across the globe, including India," said Ajit Mishra, vice president, research at Religare Broking.

Also moving the markets were expectations of positive announcements from India's upcoming budget and encouraging corporate earnings, Mishra said.

Reliance Industries rose 1.9% and was the top boost to the Nifty 50 index. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate has gained nearly 6% this week ahead of its December-quarter results on Friday.

The Nifty IT index added 2.2%, the top boost to the Nifty index, with Infosys Ltd and Tata Consultancy Ltd rising 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively. The index gained about 55% in 2020 and about 9.8% so far this year.

The Nifty auto index rose 2.3%, led by a 6.30% rise in Tata Motors and a 2.8% surge in Maruti Suzuki Ltd. Tata Motors' shares have gained nearly 50% so far this month.

Shares of power utility Adani Transmission Ltd's jumped 6.1% after strong December-quarter operational metrics https://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/corpfiling/AttachLive/63a30dbb-d0df-4577-90fd-329f0b25bfb1.pdf.