New York - US stocks gained Wednesday, ending a volatile session and a two-day losing streak, amid optimism over a major merger in the housing sector.

Stocks briefly cut gains after the Federal Reserve said in its minutes from its last policy meeting in March that "downward risks" remained in the economy. The United States is in the midst of one of its longest recessions since the Great Depression.

The Fed noted a rapid deterioration in labour market conditions, with steep job losses across all sectors.

Despite a negative start on Wednesday, owing to weak cues from international markets, the Sensex managed to close with a gain of 207 points.

In a day marked by ups and downs, the Sensex, which opened at 10,284 points, soon fell to a low of 10,172; before being recovered by selective buying in FMCG and realty stocks. With recovery being swifter than expected and buying spreading to other sectors, the Sensex rallying to a high of 10,778, before finally closing at 10,742 points.

Seoul  - Shares fell almost 3

Sydn

Lot of action was in few counters but considering the whole market the proceeds were on the minor side around Rs 49,500 crore on the F&O space as against Rs 56,000 crore during the previous week, so just about 15 per cent decline in turnover.

According to stock market expert Narendra Nainani, looking at the Nifty futures, which marked their closure provisionally around 5 or 6 points premium but intra-day they had descended into discount so from the lows of the day stock market has recovered and investors could have seen some fresh long positions returning into the Nifty.