New Delhi: Sensex and Nifty, the key equity benchmarks which started trade higher in opening deals on Wednesday, gave up gains and slipped into the red amid volatility ahead of the US Federal Reserve policy outcome.
At 10.15 am, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 194 points to 56,781, while the NSE Nifty was trading at 17,012, down 56 points.
On Wednesday, the LIC IPO was opened for subscription. The Rs 21,000-crore IPO will be the biggest public issue to date.
On the BSE platform, Power Grid, NTPC, Infosys, ITC, Tata Steel, and others were the leading gainers, while Britannia, ONGC, BPCL, and Tata Motors were the additional gainers on the Nifty.
On the flip side, Titan, Dr Reddy’s, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Bajaj twins, HUL, and others were the main losers on the BSE.
Meanwhile, the broader markets opened in the positive zone as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up to 0.5 per cent higher.
On NSE, six out of the 15 sector gauges were trading in the red. Sectorwise, Nifty metals, pharma, and consumer durable stocks were leading losses, down up to a per cent, while realty pack was the top gainer. Nifty bank and IT also held marginal gains.
In the markets in Asia, Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong were quoting lower.
In the US, stock exchanges rose higher in the overnight trade on Tuesday.
In the previous trading on Monday, the BSE Sensex went lower by 84 points (0.15 per cent) to settle at 56,975 and the Nifty declined 33 points (0.20 per cent) to close at 17,069.
The stock markets remained closed on Tuesday on account of Eid-Ul-Fitr.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.08 per cent to $106.10 per barrel.
According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 1,853.46 crore on Monday.