Sensex and Nifty, halted their four-day winning run ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s meet amid a mixed trend in global equity markets.
After a positive start, the BSE Sensex failed to hold on to the gains and ended 215.26 points (0.35 per cent) lower at 60,906. During the day, it slipped 326 points (0.53 per cent) to 60,794. On the other hand, the broader NSE Nifty fell 62 points (0.34 per cent) to settle at 18,082.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bharti Airtel, Maruti, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, HCL Technologies, IndusInd Bank, and Titan were the major laggards. On the flip side, Sun Pharma, ITC, Tech Mahindra, Dr Reddy's, and Reliance Industries were among the gainers.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index eked a 0.1 per cent loss, while the Smallcap index added 0.2 per cent.
The overall market breadth was marginally positive, with 1,799 stocks advancing versus 1,668 stocks declining on the BSE.
Among sectoral indices, the BSE Telecom index dropped 1.3 per cent. The Realty index too was down a per cent. The IT and Power indices were down over 0.5 per cent each, while the Metal index advanced 0.7 per cent.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended higher, while Tokyo settled lower. Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a mixed note in mid-session deals. Wall Street had ended in negative territory on Tuesday.
International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.17 per cent higher at $94.81 per barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Tuesday as they bought shares worth Rs 2,609.94 crore, as per exchange data.
Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 19 paise to close at 82.78 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking a muted trend in domestic equities ahead of the release of the US Fed's policy statement.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.64 and witnessed a high of 82.62 and a low of 82.81.
It finally settled at 82.78 against the American currency, registering a fall of 19 paise over its last close of 82.59.