New Delhi, January 17: The market on Wednesday extended a rally in the afternoon trade, as the BSE Sensex hit 266.34 points high at 35,037.39 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rallied 73.0 points to 10,773.50. The Nifty Bank hit all-time fresh highs of 26,150.05, largely driven by PSU banks after the government reduced the requirement of additional borrowing for the year and early resolution to Bhushan Steel case.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is expected to announce a great set of results today due to the demonetisation base, GST restocking, nation-wide launch of Ayush and international parent's cost-cutting focus.

The rupee recovered sharply in the morning after the government reduced its requirement of additional borrowing. However, it strengthened by 10 paise to 63.92 against the US dollar in morning. Yesterday, the rupee had lost 55 paise or nearly one percent -- its biggest single-day crash in eight months -- to end at a fresh two-week low of 64.04 against the US dollar, hit by a double whammy of rising global crude prices and worsening trade deficit.