Markets settle higher for 2nd day

Nestle, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever and UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended with gains on Wednesday, extending the previous day rally amid lower level of inflation on domestic front and better-than-expected inflation readings from the U.S.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 144.61 points or 0.23% to settle at 62,677.91. During the day, it jumped 301.81 points or 0.48% to 62,835.11.

The broader NSE Nifty advanced 52.30 points or 0.28% to end at 18,660.30.

From the Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, Power Grid, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and Larsen & Toubro were the major winners.

Nestle, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever and UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.

"Better-than-expected inflation readings from major global economies, combined with increased appetite for IT stocks, aided the domestic market's bullishness. U.S. CPI inflation easing to 7.1% in November will lower the chances of the Fed being hawkish. Though the Fed is largely expected to raise rates by 50 basis points, their comments on future inflation and rate actions would dominate market movements," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the positive territory.