Profit booking, coupled with negative global cues and a weak rupee, pulled the Indian equities markets lower during the mid-afternoon trade session on Tuesday.
Besides, investors were cautious ahead of the monetary policy review of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The RBI is expected to conduct its sixth and final bi-monthly monetary policy review of the current fiscal on February 7-8, 2017.
The key indices traded in the red, as heavy selling pressure was witnessed in automobile, metal and IT stocks.
The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) inched down 24.30 points or 0.28 per cent to 8,776.75 points.
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The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 28,443.23 points, traded at 28,351.27 points (at 1.30 p.m.) -- down 88.01 points or 0.31 per cent, from the previous close at 28,439.28 points.
The Sensex has touched a high of 28,483.41 points and a low of 28,341.05 points during intra-day trade so far.
In contrast, the BSE market breadth was slightly tilted in favour of the bulls -- with 1,366 advances and 1,320 declines.
"The Sensex and the Nifty traded in the flat zone with a negative bias ahead of the monetary policy review of the RBI," Astha Jain, Senior Research Analyst at Hem Securities, told IANS.
"Morever, profit booking, flat crude oil prices and a weak rupee also added to the downward trend of the markets."
According to Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, the CNX Nifty traded with bearish sentiments due to profit booking at higher levels.
"Firm USD/INR futures prices pressurised the price movement of the Indian equities markets," Desai pointed out.
"IT stocks traded down due to selling pressure, while oil-gas, textile, aviation, media-entertainment, cement and power sector stocks traded with bearish sentiments due to profit booking at higher levels."
On Monday, the benchmark indices surged on the back of positive global cues, rupee appreciation and higher crude oil prices to hit a five-month closing high.
The NSE Nifty had inched up 60.10 points or 0.69 per cent to close at 8,801.05 points, while the BSE Sensex was up 198.76 points or 0.70 per cent at 28,439.28 points.
--IANS
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