Stock market benchmark indices turned flat after beginning the trade on a positive note on Wednesday amid profit-taking in line with weak trends in Asian peers.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 128.81 points to 81,840.57 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up by 30.4 points to 25,048.15.
However, soon both the benchmark indices faced profit-taking and were trading lower. The BSE benchmark traded 42.46 points lower at 81,682.57 while the Nifty quoted 21.60 points down at 24,996.15.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Tata Motors, Titan, Sun Pharma, ITC and Reliance Industries were the biggest gainers.
Bajaj Finserv, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies and Maruti were among the laggards.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower.
The US markets ended with marginal gains on Tuesday.
"The market has entered a consolidation phase with low volatility and this trend is likely to continue in the near-term. Falling bond yields in the US has restrained FII selling and they have even turned marginal buyers. Going by previous trends, DIIs are likely to sell if FIIs continue to buy.
"This trend will keep the market within a range with a slight upward bias. This is a desirable and healthy trend, given the elevated valuations in the market," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,503.76 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 604.08 crore.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.14 per cent to USD 79.66 a barrel.
After oscillating between highs and lows, the BSE benchmark eked out a marginal gain of 13.65 points or 0.02 per cent to settle at 81,711.76 on Tuesday. The NSE Nifty ended almost flat, up 7.15 points or 0.03 per cent, at 25,017.75 -- its ninth straight session of gains.
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