Stocks drove into consolidation mode today in absence of fresh triggers as the Sensex remained marginally up to close at 29,330 ahead of release of key macro data tomorrow.
Leaving the RBI policy meet behind, where the central bank kept repo rate on hold on Wednesday, the markets saw intermittent spells of turbulence all throughout.
Buying activity ahead of December IIP data due tomorrow and optimism about corporate earnings steered the domestic market, traders said.
The Sensex opened higher and moved between 28,469.48 and 28,152.18 before ending at 28,329.70, a moderate rise of 39.78 points, or 0.14 per cent.
The volatile Sensex swung over 317 points during the day.
The NSE Nifty inched higher by 9.35 points, or 0.11 per cent, to close at 8,778.40. Intra-day, it hovered in a range of 8,821.40 and 8,724.10.
"SIAM's auto numbers have shown that passenger vehicle sales have recovered from the effect of demonetisation, adding to the positive expectations towards tomorrow's IIP release," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
The broader markets traded in sync with the benchmarks as the mid-cap and small-cap gained 0.23 per cent and 0.19 per cent, respectively.
The rupee's rising fortunes continued as it closed 34 paise higher at 66.85 -- a 3-month high -- against the dollar.
A better opening in Europe infused some positivity.
Among Sensex 30 constituents, TCS gained the most by surging 2.72 per cent. Other gainers included Infosys, GAIL, Wipro, ITC and RIL.
Shares of Hero MotoCorp gained 1.26 per cent despite a fall in standalone net profit in October-December on account of demonetisation.
Banking shares faced some heat after RBI threw a surprise by keeping policy rates steady and shifting its stance to 'neutral' from 'accommodative'.
SBI, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, PNB, Bank of Baroda, Yes Bank and ICICI Bank lost, dragging down the bank index by 0.47 per cent.
Pharma firm Lupin rose 0.51 per cent after the company reported a robust increase in consolidated net profit.
In sectoral dynamics, BSE IT advanced 1.64 per cent. Others such as technology, consumer durables, realty and FMCG too rose, in that order.
Foreign investors sold shares worth a net Rs 127.69 crore on Wednesday, provisional data showed. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also net divested shares of Rs 166.82 crore.
Other Asian markets ended mixed.
European shares rose at the start as Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.30 per cent, Paris CAC 40 added 0.60 per cent and London's FTSE rose 0.20 per cent.
A total of 14 scrips out of 30-share Sensex pack ended
higher while 15 went down and one stayed unchanged.
The market breadth turned negative as 1,490 shares closed lower, 1,406 higher while 149 ruled steady.
The total turnover on BSE read Rs 3,355.34 crore, down from Rs 6,125.92 crore during the previous trading session.
