Mumbai, Aug 23 (IANS): Benchmark indices rebounded on Tuesday after falling for two consecutive days with Sensex rising 257 points and Nifty rising 86 points.

At close, Sensex was up 257.43 points or 0.44 per cent at 59,031.30, while Nifty was up 86.80 points or 0.50 per cent at 17,577.50. About 2,111 shares advanced, 1,282 shares declined while 156 shares remained unchanged on Tuesday.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Titan and Tata Steel, were among the major gainers on the BSE. BSE Auto, BSE Metal, BSE Consumer Durables, and BSE Oil & Gas rose the most.

BSE small-cap was up 0.78 per cent, BSE large-cap was up 0.50 per cent, while BSE mid-cap was up 1.03 per cent.

"Markets witnessed heightened volatility as Sensex gyrated more than 1,000 points intra-day before late buying in banking, auto, metal and realty stocks aided recovery. Markets may witness bouts of volatility in coming days as global factors will continue to keep investors on tenterhooks," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei declined on Tuesday and closed 1.19 per cent lower, while China stocks also closed lower. The Shanghai Composite Index edged 0.1 per cent lower and the Hang Seng Index declined 0.8 tenderhooks.

European shares extended losses on Tuesday as investors waited for a key set of economic data to gauge the health of businesses in a hyperinflationary environment, while fretting about soaring energy prices and a weak economic outlook.

Going forward, investors await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks on inflation and the rate outlook at the approaching annual Jackson Hole economic symposium.

"Nifty ended the day with a significant green candle that pierced through the body of the previous bear candle on the daily chart. On the lower end, the Nifty found support at a near-term moving average. Going ahead, the trend may remain positive as long as the index holds above 17,400 on a sustained basis. On the higher end, 17,700 may act as immediate resistance; a decisive move above 17,700 may induce a rally towards the recent high of 18,000," said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.