Key benchmarks were trading in a range with small gains in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 53.62 points or 0.15% at 35,269.94. The Nifty 50 index was up 13.15 points or 0.12% at 10,730.95. The undertone of the market was fragile as investors assessed the implications of President Donald Trump's decision to scrap a nuclear deal with Iran.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.33%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.08%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,271 shares fell and 1,151 shares rose. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.
Cement shares declined. UltraTech Cement (down 2.44%), Ambuja Cements (down 1.43%) and ACC (down 1.06%), edged lower.
Grasim Industries was down 0.95%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
Shares of the state-run oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) fell after Brent Crude crossed $76 per barrel mark. BPCL (down 3.03%), HPCL (down 3%) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) (down 2.13%) declined.
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Crude oil prices surged as Trump walking away from an international nuclear deal with Iran could curb the OPEC-member's crude exports in an already tight market. In the global commodities markets, Brent crude oil futures for July 2018 settlement was up $1.74 at $76.59 a barrel.
Higher crude oil prices could increase under-recoveries of public-sector undertaking oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) on domestic sale of LPG and kerosene at controlled prices. The government has already freed pricing of petrol and diesel.
Overseas, Asian shares were mixed following President Donald Trump's announcement that the US would pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.
US stocks came off their lows on Tuesday to end a choppy session little changed, after Trump announced the US was abandoning the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was forged by former President Barack Obama three years ago. The president also said he planned to ramp up penalties against Tehran, including the highest level of economic sanctions.
In US, an index of small-business optimism from the National Federation of Independent Businesses ticked up 0.1 point to 104.8 in April. Separately, a report on US job openings, known as the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, showed a record 6.6 million job openings in March.
Meanwhile, US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reportedly said early Tuesday at an event in Switzerland that emerging-market economies should be able to manage as advanced economies move toward tighter monetary policy.
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