Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty closed higher for the second straight session on Tuesday, helped by buying in power and utility stocks amid positive quarterly numbers announced by heavyweight companies.

However, foreign fund outflows and a muted trend in global equities capped the gains, traders said.

In a highly volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 74.61 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at 60,130.71. During the day, it hit a high of 60,268.67 and a low of 60,202.77.

The broader NSE Nifty gained 25.85 points or 0.15 per cent to end at 17,769.25.

Bajaj Finance led the Sensex gainers' chart, spurting up to 2.38 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserve rising 2.11 per cent and IndusInd Bank closing 1.66 per cent higher. Bharti Airtel, SBI and L&T increased by 1.60 per cent, 1.28 per cent and 0.92 per cent, respectively.

In contrast, HDFC twins, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Wipro and Axis Bank were among the main laggards, shedding up to 1.47 per cent.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge remained unchanged and smallcap index inched up 0.19 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong suffered losses, while Tokyo logged gains.

Equity exchanges in Europe were trading in the red in mid-session deals. Markets in the US closed on a mixed note on Monday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.29 per cent to USD 82.49 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth a net Rs 412.27 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

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