Equity benchmark indices began the trade on a firm note on Wednesday amid fresh foreign fund inflows and a rally in the US markets.

Concerns over tariff threats by US President-elect Donald Trump, however, instilled volatility in the market during the morning trade.

The BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 166.1 points to 80,170.16 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up 74.35 points to 24,268.85.

However, later both the benchmark indices turned volatile. The BSE benchmark gauge traded 60.26 points higher at 80,055.58 and the Nifty quoted 16.55 points up at 24,211.10.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and NTPC were among the gainers.

IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,157.70 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

"Trump's renewed tariff threats on China, Mexico, and Canada dampened sentiment, fuelling trade tension fears," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

In Asian markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the green while Seoul and Tokyo quoted lower.

The US markets ended in the positive territory on Tuesday.

"President-elect Trump has already started declaring what he intends to do immediately upon his taking office. 25 per cent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports and an additional 10 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports have already been announced. How these countries react to these tariffs remains to be seen," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

Market is likely to consolidate around the current levels since there are no immediate triggers for a breakout or a break down, he added.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.05 per cent to USD 72.85 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark declined 105.79 points or 0.13 per cent to settle at 80,004.06 on Tuesday. The Nifty dipped 27.40 points or 0.11 per cent to 24,194.50.