Equity benchmark indices ended slightly higher after volatile trading on Wednesday as investors awaited positive cues from the Union Budget for FY 20 due on Friday.
The BSE S & P Sensex closed 23 points higher at 39,839 while the Nifty 50 moved up six points to close at 11,917. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), most sectoral indices were in the green except for auto, IT, metal and pharma.
Among stocks, Indiabulls Housing Finance gained 7.5 per cent to close at Rs 690.60 per share. IndusInd Bank closed nearly 4 per cent higher while FMCG major ITC, Zee Entertainment, and Grasim showed gains of over 1 per cent.
However, Eicher Motors lost 2.74 per cent due to poor sales in the overall auto sector. GAIL, Tech Mahindra, Vedanta and Dr Reddy too closed in the negative territory.
Meanwhile, Asian shares were subdued as initial enthusiasm over the latest US-China trade truce was overtaken by fresh concerns over Washington's threat of tariffs on additional European goods.
Global growth concerns also weighed on investor confidence. Japan's Nikkei was down 0.4 per cent along with equities in South Korea and Hong Kong slipping marginally.
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