Mumbai | Benchmark equity indices rebounded on Wednesday on fag-end buying and a sharp rally in blue-chip Reliance Industries.

Markets recovered all intraday losses and ended higher. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 117.54 points, or 0.16 per cent, to settle at 75,318.39. During the day, it tanked 671.44 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 74,529.41.

The 50-share NSE Nifty edged higher by 41 points, or 0.17 per cent, to end at 23,659.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Reliance Industries rallied 2.83 per cent. Bajaj Finserv, Trent, InterGlobe Aviation, Axis Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were also among the winners.

Bharat Electronics, Tech Mahindra, Eternal and Tata Steel were among the major laggards.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 2 per cent lower at USD 109 per barrel.

"Markets recovered from intraday lows, supported by selective buying in large-cap stocks across autos, financials, and oil & gas," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

However, persistent rupee weakness and elevated crude prices continue to weigh on sentiment due to concerns around inflation and margin pressures, while FII flows remain mixed, he added.

In Asian markets, South Korea's benchmark Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended lower.

Markets in Europe were trading higher.

US markets ended lower on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was an hour away from making a decision to restart attacks on Iran, but put it off after receiving a call from interlocutors, including Qatar and the UAE, on Tehran being "reasonable" in the peace talks.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,457.49 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

On Tuesday, the Sensex declined 114.19 points, or 0.15 per cent, to settle at 75,200.85. The Nifty dipped 31.95 points, or 0.14 per cent, to end at 23,618.