The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday are trading higher amid volatility tracking mixed global cues. At 10.15 am, the BSE Sensex advanced 94 points to 73,189. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 22,214, up 16 points.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Tata Motors, TCS, Infosys, SBI, Airtel, TechM emerged early gainers. On the down side, Asian Paints, M&M, Maruti, Sun Pharma, PowerGrid, UltraCemco were among losers. Among specific stocks, Vodafone Idea fell 1 per cent after the company's board approved fund raise up to Rs 45,000 crore in equity and debt. On the other hand, Patanjali tanked nearly 4 per cent after the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a contempt notice to Patanjali Ayurved and its managing director Acharya Balakrishna for flouting earlier orders.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.3 per cent each.
Sectorwise, except IT index all other indices are trading in the negative zone. Auto, oil & gas, power, realty dropped 0.5 per cent each.
In the previous session on Tuesday, the Sensex rose 305 points to settle at 73,095, while the Nifty ended 76 points up at 22,198.
"Market is likely to be in a range-bound zone in the near term. The present range-bound consolidation phase is likely to continue for some time in the absence of strong positive or negative triggers," said V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
In Asian markets, Seoul quoted with gains, while Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong traded lower. The US markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.40 per cent to $83.30 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,509.16 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, in early Wednesday trading, the Indian rupee held steady at 82.89 against the US dollar, showing resilience despite ongoing foreign fund outflows and heightened month-end demand for the American currency.
Forex experts noted that the rupee faced pressure from escalating crude oil prices, which surpassed the $83 per barrel mark. However, gains in the equity markets provided some support and prevented a significant decline in the value of the rupee.
Beginning at 82.90 at the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee slightly appreciated to reach the previous day's closing rate of 82.89 against the US dollar. The rupee had closed marginally lower at 82.89 against the US dollar in the preceding session on Tuesday.