Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded sharply on Wednesday following heavy buying in index majors Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 526.01 points or 0.73 per cent to settle at 72,996.31.

During the day, it jumped 668.43 points or 0.92 per cent to 73,138.73.

The NSE Nifty went up by 118.95 points or 0.54 per cent to 22,123.65.

From the Sensex basket, Reliance Industries jumped 3.50 per cent, contributing the most to the rise.

Maruti, Bajaj Finance, Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Larsen & Toubro were among the major gainers.

Wipro, HCL Technologies, Nestle, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Motors were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Tokyo settled in the positive territory, while Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net buyers on Tuesday, as they bought equities worth Rs 10.13 crore, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.96 per cent to $85.42 a barrel.