1 / 6Extending gains for the second straight session, the equity benchmark Sensex jumped by nearly 2 per cent to soar past the 56,000-mark on Thursday, propelled by robust buying in finance, banking and IT stocks2 / 6Value-buying persisted in blue chips as well as select mid- and small-cap counters after their recent spell of weakness, traders said.3 / 6A strong recovery in the rupee further boosted domestic equities despite the US Federal Reserve hiked rates to tame inflation, they added.4 / 6The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised key interest rates by 75 basis points for the second straight month.5 / 6The 30-share BSE benchmark jumped 1,041.47 points or 1.87 per cent to settle at 56,857.79. During the day, it rallied 1,097.9 points or 1.96 per cent to 56,914.22.6 / 6The broader NSE Nifty advanced 287.80 points or 1.73 per cent to 16,929.60. The Nifty rose sharply after the US Fed’s comments hinting at a possibility of a slower pace of monetary tightening, Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.