Benchmark indices ended higher for the sixth consecutive session, with the Sensex rising 160.69 points to 34,101.13 and the Nifty gaining 41.50 points at 10,458.70 ahead of macro data due later in the day and Infosys earnings tomorrow.

Metals, PSU banks, realty and pharma stocks were under pressure while IT stocks outperformed throughout the session.

Jaiprakash Associates, Balrampur Chini, Triveni Engineering, Dwarikesh Sugar, SAIL, IRB Infrastructure, OBC, Union Bank, Andhra Bank, Bank of India, Indraprastha Gas, Gujarat Gas, Bata India, Adani Enterprises, Rain Industries and Goa Carbon fell up to 6 percent.

Tata Sponge, Tata Metaliks, Dish TV, Hathway Cable, Future Consumer, Future Retail, Fortis Healthcare, Harrisons Malyalam, NIIT Tech, Hexaware and Tata Elxsirallied up to 10 percent.

3:22 pm Oil off highs:Oil markets edged back from highs last reached in late 2014 as ample supplies weighed, but prices were underpinned by worries over military escalation in Syria and trade tensions between the United States and China.

Brent crude futures were at USD 72.02 a barrel, down 0.06 percent from their last close.

Both Brent and WTI on Wednesday hit their highest since late 2014 at USD 73.09 and USD 67.45 a barrel respectively after Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles over Riyadh and US President Donald Trump warned Russia of imminent military action in Syria, reports Reuters.

3:18 pm SAIL misses Target:Steel Authority of India (SAIL), the country’s largest state-owned alloy producer, failed to meet its target to supply rails for Indian Railways during the fiscal year for 2017/18, underscoring the problems of modernising the country’s rail network.

SAIL, which swung to profits in the October to December quarter after 10 straight quarterly losses, supplied 874,000 tonnes of steel in 2017/18, as against the revised target of 950,000 tonnes, according to a document the company prepared for Ministry of Steel that was reviewed by Reuters.

The 2017/18 target was lowered from 1.46 million tonnes, the initial aim for the last fiscal year. This is the third fiscal year in a row the company has missed its delivery target.

3:12 pm Market Update:Benchmark indices continued to trade higher.The Sensex was up 161.20 points at 34,101.64 and the Nifty gained 40.20 points at 10,457.40.

About three shares declined for every two shares rising on theBSE.

3:10 pm Order Win:MEP Infrastructure Developers said it has received letter of award from Indian Highways Management Company (An initiative of NHAI) for providing services of Hybrid ETC & Toll Management Systems at Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE).

The operation will commence from the date of the signing of the contract agreement including the time required for installation and commissioning of all services being provided under this agreement. Period of the contract is 2 years.

The contractual amount for the project is Rs 28.71 crore.

3:05 pm Capacity Expansion:Ultramarine & Pigments is setting up a plant for manufacture of surfactants / specialty chemicals at Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.

The company proposed capacity addition of 32,000 million tonnes and the proposed capacity will be added within 18 months from the date of possession of plot (5th March, 2018).