Benchmark indices closed a choppy day in the green with the Sensex up 66 points at 20,048 and the Nifty gained six points to close at 6,054 thanks to the last hour gains in ITC, Bharti Airtel and financials.
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(Updated at 1432 hrs)
Markets continue to trade in the negative territory owing to weakness in Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors and ONGC in noon trades. The Sensex was down 38 points at 19,943 and the Nifty slipped 21 points at 6,027.
Meanwhile, selling pressure intensified in the broader markets. The midcap index dipped over 1% and the smallcap index was down 0.9%, both underperforming the Sensex which was marginally down 0.2%.
In Asian markets, Nikkei fell a third straight day, reaching a three-week closing low on Wednesday after the Bank of Japan's easing steps fell short of expectations, triggering profit-taking in shares bought in anticipation of the central bank decision. The index was down 2%. Haag Seng slipped 0.1% while Shanghai Composite was up 0.2%.
European stocks edged toward 22 month highs on Wednesday, driven by upbeat corporate earnings, an easing in fears about the U.S. hitting its debt ceiling and a better outlook for the global economy. Strong investor confidence data from Germany, Japan's plans to shore up the world's third largest economy, and improving economic numbers this month from the world's top two economies, the U.S. and China, have all cheered investors. FTSE was up 0.1% while DAX was flat and CAC was down 0.3%.
Back home, all the sectoral indices were in the red. Realty down 2.6% followed by PSU, Auto, Oil & Gas, Power, Metal and Consumer Durables down 1% each was the major losers.
Among the Sensex-30, Hindustan Unilever down 5%, Hindalco, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Gail India, NTPC, Tata Steel, Sterlite and ONGC down 1-2% were the major losers.
The notable gainers were Bharti Airtel, ITC, CIpla, Tata Power, Wipro and Hero MotoCorp up 0.5-3%.
The market breadth was negative. 1886 stocks declined while 932 stocks advanced on the BSE.