mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Wednesday driven by heavy buying in infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro.
Rising for the second day, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 143.91 points or 0.18 per cent to settle at 81,481.86. During the day, the barometer moved in a narrow range and rose by 281.01 points or 0.34 per cent to hit a high of 81,618.96.
The 50-share NSE Nifty rose by 33.95 points or 0.14 per cent to close at 24,855.05.
US trade deal uncertainty and foreign fund outflows restricted the gains to a large extent, analysts said.
Among Sensex firms, Larsen & Toubro jumped 4.87 per cent after the infrastructure major reported a 29.8 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,617.19 crore during the June quarter, driven by strong overseas order growth.
Sun Pharma, NTPC, Maruti, Bharti Airtel, Trent and Axis Bank were also among the gainers.
Tata Motors was the biggest loser among Sensex stocks, dropping by 3.47 per cent amid reports that the auto maker was in advanced talks to acquire the truck division of an Italian company in a USD 4.5 billion deal.
Stock exchanges have sought clarification from the company related to the reports.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,636.60 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
US President Donald Trump has said the trade deal with India is not finalised, as he stressed that India imposes more tariffs than almost any other country.