MUMBAI: Equity benchmarks resumed their upward march on Wednesday, propelled by fag-end buying in bank, IT and auto stocks amid lacklustre global cues.
Overcoming a bout of volatility in late-afternoon trade, the BSE Sensex finished 172.69 points or 0.43 per cent higher at 40,412.57.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 53.35 points or 0.45 per cent to close at 11,910.15.
NTPC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting 2.77 per cent, followed by ONGC, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Bank, TCS, Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank and Tata Motors, which gained up to 2.28 per cent.
On the other hand, Yes Bank topped the laggard's list for the second straight day, plunging 15.33 per cent amid uncertainty over its USD 2-billion fundraising plan.
Vedanta, Hero MotoCorp, L&T, Bharti Airtel and HUL also tumbled up to 1.63 per cent.
"After a subdued trade during most part of the day, market witnessed a sharp turnaround due to short covering in index heavyweights. Upcoming macro indicators like CPI inflation and IIP data are unlikely to paint a rosy picture which may reduce upside potential in the near term."
"On global front, FOMC meeting, UK election and US tariff deadline remain key events," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Sectorally, BSE Utilities was the biggest gainer with 1.52 per cent jump, followed by oil & gas (1.13 per cent), power (1.12 per cent), IT (0.97 per cent), realty (0.90 per cent) and finance (0.58 per cent).
On the other hand, basic materials, capital goods, industrials, telecom, consumer durables and metal declined up to 0.81 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday trimmed its forecast for India's economic growth in 2019-20 to 5.1 per cent, saying consumption was affected by slow job growth and rural distress aggravated by poor harvest.
"India's growth is now seen at a slower 5.1 per cent in fiscal year 2019-20 as the foundering of a major non-banking financial company in 2018 led to a rise in risk aversion in the financial sector and a credit crunch."
"Also, consumption was affected by slow job growth and rural distress aggravated by a poor harvest," it said.
The rupee appreciated by 14 paise to trade at 70.78 against the US dollar (intra-day).
Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.40 per cent to USD 64.08 per barrel.
Global sentiment was cautious ahead of the deadline for new US tariffs on Chinese goods.
In Asia, Tokyo and Bangkok ended lower, while Hong Kong rose 0.79 per cent and Shanghai added 0.2 per cent.
Seoul and Singapore also finished in the green.
In Europe, London FTSE 100 fell 0.2 per cent, while Frankfurt's DAX and Paris' CAC 40 were trading in the positive territory in early deals.