Mumbai, Dec 26 (IANS): Value buying on the back of attractive valuations buoyed the major domestic equity indices on Wednesday, with the barometer BSE Sensex gaining 180 points.

The volatile trade session closed with the equity market making a strong recovery at the last hour led by the financial sector that ended with 0.88 per cent gains on the BSE, while on the NSE, only the export-oriented Nifty IT and pharma index ended lower.

The Sensex settled 179.79 points or 0.51 per cent higher at 35,649.94, after touching an intra-day high of 35,711.26 and a low of 35,010.82.

The NSE's Nifty50 gained 66.35 points or 0.62 per cent to finish at 10,729.85.

The benchmark Brent Crude prices rose to $50.93 a barrel in the international market. The domestic currency stood stronger at 70.02 per US dollar from its previous close of 70.14.

"The oil market is facing a lot of uncertainty and one possibility is that OPEC may go for a further production cut if prices decline," Anuj Gupta, Deputy Vice President - Research, Commodities and Forex, Angel Broking, told IANS.