Mumbai, Jan 16 : India's domestic benchmark indices ended higher on Thursday as Adani Ports was among the top gainers.

Sensex ended at 77,042.82 up by 318.74 points, or 0.42 per cent, and Nifty settled at 23,311.80, up by 98.60 points, or 0.42 per cent.

Adani Ports closed at Rs 1,151 per share after gaining by Rs 22.85 or 2.03 per cent.

Nifty Bank ended at 49,278.70 up by 527 points, or 1.08 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 54,483.80 after climbing 584.80 points, or 1.09 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 17,643.30 after adding 289.35 points, or 1.67 per cent.

According to experts, benchmark indices continued to trade in the positive, albeit off highs, driven by positive investor sentiment following mild US inflation data, which raised hopes for a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

"Additionally, favourable developments in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and a reduced trade deficit further boosted the market's upward movement. However, weak economic growth data from the UK dampened some of this optimism. Despite higher valuations compared to leading indices, the broader market saw bargain buying during the recent correction," they added.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,779 shares ended in the green and 1,187 shares in the red, whereas there was no change in 101 shares.

In the Sensex pack, Adani Ports, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, Ultra Tech Cement and ICICI Bank were the top gainers. Whereas, HCL Tech, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever Limited and ITC were the top losers.

In the meantime, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 4,533.49 crore on January 15, on the other hand domestic institutional bought equities worth Rs 3,682.54 crore on the same day.

/IANS