Mumbai | Benchmark Sensex and Nifty closed with gains in highly choppy trade on Wednesday following continuous foreign fund inflows and buying in index major Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 178.87 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 61,940.20. During the day, it hit a high of 61,974.35 and a low of 61,572.93.

The broader NSE Nifty gained 49.15 points or 0.27 per cent to end at 18,315.10, posting gains for a third day in a row.

Among the Sensex firms, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Nestle and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the major gainers.

Infosys, State Bank of India, Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever and Titan were the major laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

European equity markets were trading lower. The US markets had ended in the negative territory on Tuesday.

"US inflation data for April will be keenly focused as this would provide some indication about the Fed's next course of action on the rate front," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.39 per cent to USD 76.36 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,942.19 crore, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark skidded 2.92 points to settle at 61,761.33 on Tuesday. The Nifty ended marginally up by 1.55 points or 0.01 per cent at 18,265.95.