New Delhi, May 17 : Continuing with the opening session gains, Indian equity indices rose further during the afternoon trade to close sharply higher on Tuesday. Sensex closed at 54,318 points, up 1,345 points, whereas Nifty at 16,259 points, was up 417 points. S. Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP securities, said: "On a day when WPI for April crossed 15 per cent, the 2.7 per cent rise in benchmark indices coupled with the breadth of the rally surprised many on the street despite the move coming after a relentless fall." However, shares of much-awaited Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) made a weak listing on the stock exchanges on Tuesday. The Indian insurance major listed on the stock exchanges at a discount of 8.62 per cent at Rs 867, from its IPO issue price of Rs 949. It closed the day at Rs 875.25, up 0.4 per cent. /IANS