The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday were trading flat as most sectors remain range-bound amid volatility. At 9.48 am, the BSE Sensex was marginally up by 23 points 64,965. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 19,429, up 22 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Asian Paints, L&T, Titan, TCS, Tata Motors, Wipro emerged early gainers. On the downside, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, NTPC, Tata Steel, Infosys, Bajaj Finance were among losers. Asian Paints is the lead gainer, up 0.95 per cent.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.5 per cent each.
Sectorwise, barring banks, all other indices are trading in the positive zone. Nifty Pharma and PSU Bank indices rose 0.7 per cent.
In the previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex settled at 64,942, down 16 points, while the NSE Nifty50 ended at 19,407, down 5 points.
In Asian markets, Seoul, and Tokyo were quoting lower, while Shanghai and Hong Kong traded in the green. The US markets ended in the positive territory on Tuesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.07 per cent to $81.67 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 497.21 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, Indian rupee was trading in a narrow range against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday amid a muted trend in domestic equities and strength of the American currency in the overseas market. Forex traders said sustained foreign fund outflows also dented investor sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.25 against the dollar and then touched an early high of 83.23, registering a gain of 4 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 83.27 against the US dollar. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.02 per cent to $81.63 per barrel.