The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, which started trade on a positive note on Tuesday, were trading flat tracking mixed global cues. Investors in Asia seemed to be more positive even as the US market declined on Monday after strong data on jobs last week renewed worries about Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory going forward.


At 10.15 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 130 points to 60,376. On the flipside, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 17,740, down 24 points.


On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Steel, ITC, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Maruti were trading in losses. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, UltraCemco, Bajaj twins, Kotak Bank, Reliance and others emerged winners.


Among individual stocks, shares of Bharti Airtel gained marginally ahead of the December quarter (Q3FY23) results.


In the broader markets, Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 indices gained up to 0.1 per cent.


Sectorwise, Nifty Bank and Nifty Realty indices gained marginally in trade, while Nifty Metal index was worst hit, as the index declined over 1 per cent.


In the previous session on Monday, Sensex dropped 335 points (0.55 per cent) to close at 60,506, while the Nifty fell 89 points (0.50 per cent) to end the day at 17,764.


Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC securities, said Asian stocks made small advances as investors await commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later Tuesday amid bets the central bank will keep a firm grip on monetary policy.


The US as well as the European markets closed in the negative territory on Monday. Markets in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and China were trading in the green.


Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers on Monday, offloading shares worth Rs 1,218.14 crore, according to data available with the BSE.


The international Brent crude futures rose 0.79 per cent to $81.78 per barrel.


Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 10 paise to 82.66 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday on the back of a positive trend in domestic equities and relatively weaker greenback. However, foreign capital outflows restricted the gain in the domestic unit, forex traders said.


At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened strong at 82.68 against the dollar, then gained further ground to 82.66, a rise of 10 paise over its last close. In early deals, it was moving in a tight range of 82.69-82.65.


On Monday, the rupee fell 68 paise to close at a one-month low of 82.76 against the US dollar.