Equity benchmark indices closed nearly 1 per cent higher on Wednesday even as investors globally were focussed on concerns about a new faster-spreading variant of the coronavirus.

The BSE S&P Sensex wound up 437 points or 0.95 per cent higher at 46,444 while the Nifty 50 advanced by 135 points or 1 per cent to 13,601. All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty realty rising by 3.9 per cent, IT by 2.3 per cent, pharma by 1.6 per cent and auto by 1.3 per cent.

Among stocks, Wipro gained by 5.7 per cent to Rs 384.95 per share after the IT software major announced a 700 million dollar digital and IT partnership deal with German wholesaler Metro AG.

Infosys was up by 2.6 per cent and closed at Rs 1,252 per share. Realty major Godrej Properties advanced by 8.1 per cent to Rs 1,378 per share while DLF Ltd was up by 4 per cent to Rs 228.70.

The other major winners were Cipla, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever and ITC. However, GAIL, NTPC and Power Grid Corporation traded with a negative bias along with Titan and Britannia.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks steadied and Japan’s Nikkei rose by 0.33 per cent although gains were concentrated in healthcare and technology stocks.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up by 0.66 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi surged by 0.96 per cent.