MUMBAI: Equity markets witnessed mixed trends on Thursday, with the Sensex climbing over 224 points, while the NSE Nifty dipped almost 6 points in a see-saw session.
The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex advanced 224.16 points or 0.38 per cent to settle at 59,932.24.
During the day, it hit a high of 60,007.67 and a low of 59,215.62.
However, the broader NSE Nifty dipped 5.90 points or 0.03 per cent to end at 17,610.40, weighed down by continuous selling in Adani group stocks.
ITC jumped 4.74 per cent to top the Sensex gainers' chart for the second straight day.
The other major winners included IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and ICICI Bank.
However, NTPC, HDFC, Titan, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance and HDFC Bank were the prominent laggards.
Titan slipped 1.80 per cent after the Tata group firm reported a 9.78 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 913 crore for the December quarter, impacted by higher expenses.
"Despite a growth-oriented Budget, drop in crude prices and upside in the global market, the domestic market is not able to gain because of the Adani saga having a ripple impact on the investors.
"In addition, the premium valuation of India continues to weigh down the performance compared to other emerging markets which are expecting upside in the economy. The global markets are positive in assumption of being in the last phase of the rate hikes," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
World stocks advanced after the US Federal Reserve increased the interest rate by 25 bps on expected lines but Fed Chair Jerome Powell said a "disinflationary" process was underway, boosting expectations of a pause in the rate hike cycle.
Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai ended in the green, while Hong Kong settled lower.
Equities in Europe were trading higher during mid-session deals.
Markets in the US had ended in the positive territory on Wednesday.
"The rout in Adani group stocks continued to play havoc as benchmark indices gyrated sharply intra-day before recouping lost ground on buying in IT and banking stocks. However, power, energy, oil & gas, and utility stocks were plundered as investors continued to exit in view of dampening sentiment. More than external factors, investors' sentiments have been hurt by the domestic mood," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.
In a surprising move, Adani Enterprises late on Wednesday said it has decided not to go ahead with its Rs 20,000-crore Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) and will return the proceeds to investors.
The announcement came a day after the company's FPO was subscribed fully on the last day of the offer on Tuesday.
Adani Enterprises tumbled 26.50 per cent. Most of the group firms also ended in the negative territory, including Adani Transmission which tanked 10 per cent, Adani Green Energy slumped 10 per cent, Adani Total Gas (10 per cent) and Adani Ports (6.13 per cent).
In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.36 per cent and the midcap index gained 0.21 per cent.
Among indices, FMCG rallied 2.18 per cent, IT (1.65 per cent), teck (1.60 per cent), industrials (0.60 per cent) and bankex (0.45 per cent).
Utilities tanked the most by 3.78 per cent, followed by power, oil & gas, commodities, consumer discretionary, energy, metal and consumer durables.
International oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.29 per cent to USD 82.78 per barrel.
The rupee fell 40 paise to close at 82.20 (provisional) per US dollar on Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers as they bought shares worth a net Rs 1,785.21 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.