Equity benchmark indices climbed on Wednesday as the markets saw volatile trading amid buying in bank stocks in tandem with mixed global trends.

Rallying for the fourth day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 116.94 points to 81,572.34 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up 33.75 points to 24,891.05.

From the Sensex pack, NTPC, Asian Paints, JSW Steel, Bharti Airtel, ITC, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, and Special Economic Zone and Tech Mahindra were the major gainers.

Power Grid, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards.

In the Asian markets, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Seoul are trading higher while Tokyo is quoting in the negative territory.

The US markets settled on a mixed note on Tuesday.

"The global cues are likely to be supportive on expectations of a rate cut from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) in September. The Fed commentary expected tonight is likely to indicate the possibility of rate cut in September.

"It is time for investors to take a long-term call on the market and moderate their expectations to realistic levels. At this juncture in the market safety is important," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said. Chasing super normal returns from the broader market will be a risky game, he said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude is rose 1.49 per cent to USD 79.80 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 5,598.64 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed higher by 99.56 points, or 0.12 per cent, at 81,455.40 -- its all-time closing high.

The NSE Nifty edged up 21.20 points, or 0.09 per cent, to settle at an all-time closing high of 24,857.30.

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