Indian shares ended a choppy session slightly higher on Wednesday, tracking mixed cues from global markets.
A cautious undertone prevailed ahead of the release of the Federal Reserves July meeting minutes and preliminary revisions to U.S. labor data later in the day that could provide greater clarity on monetary policy easing.
Investors also braced for Fed Chair Jerome Powells upcoming keynote speech at the Kansas City Feds Jackson Hole economic symposium on Friday.
Experts anticipate Powell will hint at a 25-bps rate cut in September, but caution that decisions will remain data-dependent.
The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex moved in a narrow range before closing up 102.44 points, or 0.13 percent, at 80,905.30.
The broader NSE Nifty index settled up 71.35 points, or 0.29 percent, at 24,770.20.
Healthcare stocks topped the gainers list, with Cipla and Divis Laboratories rallying 2 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.
Among other prominent gainers, Grasim, SBI Life and Titan Company all rose around 2 percent.
On the flip side, Power Grid Corp, UltraTech, Tata Steel and Tech Mahindra fell around 1 percent each.