Stocks trade on lacklustre note, Bharat Petroleum gains by 4.3 pc

Equity benchmark indices dithered throughout the trading session on Wednesday but closed in the green with marginal gains.

The BSE S & P Sensex closed 93 points higher at 38,599 while the Nifty 50 was up 43 points at 11,472. Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with narrow movements.

Among stocks, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) surged 4.3 per cent after reports said that Saudi Aramco may buy out the government's stake to enter one of the world's biggest oil retail markets. BPCL stock closed at Rs 511.45 apiece.

Bajaj Finance and Zee Entertainment rallied by 3.7 per cent each while Grasim gained by 3.4 per cent, ONGC by 3.1 per cent, Yes Bank by 2.7 per cent and Wipro by 2.1 per cent.

However, Hero MotoCorp, Vedanta, Hindalco, Asian Paints, and NTPC closed in the red.

Meanwhile, Asian indices were in the green led by the Japanese Nikkei which gained by 1.2 per cent. The scent of a trade deal between the United States and China and earnings surprise by large corporate banks also lifted South Korea's Kospi by 0.7 per cent.

Investors also looked to whether Britain can secure a deal to avoid a disorderly exit from the European Union later this month.