Nifty rises as IT stocks, Airtel rally

(Reuters) - The Nifty ended higher on Thursday, having earlier hit a near two-year high, with IT stocks leading the gains on the day of derivatives expiry.

Infosys gained 1.66 percent and Tata Consultancy Services rose 2.8 percent, while Bharti Airtel hit its highest in 18 months after the telecom operator said it would buy Norwegian Telenor's India unit.

The Nifty ended up 0.14 percent at 8,939.5, its highest close since Sept 8, 2016. The benchmark BSE index closed 0.1 percent up at 28,892.97.

The market will be shut on Friday for a public holiday.

(Reporting By Samantha Kareen Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan)