After slipping around 1 per cent in the intrad-day deals, the benchmark indices staged a smart recovery in the last half hour of the session to end flat on Wednesday.
The S&P BSE Sensex settled 37 points, or 0.08 per cent lower at 44,618 levels while NSE's Nifty ended at 13,114, up 4.7 points, or 0.04 per cent. Volatility index, India VIX, ended flat at 20.2 levels, up 0.3 per cent.
Financial counters such as HDFC Bank, HDFC, ICICI Bank, and Bajaj Finance were among the major contributors to the Sensex's fall today while Asian Paints, TCS, and Titan Company gave the much-needed support.
The broader market, however, outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE MidCap index gained 0.55 per cent to 17,167 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended 0.68 per cent higher at 17,129 points.
Sectorally, metal, auto and realty stocks rallied. Nifty Metal index gained 2.56 per cent to 3,050 levels.
Among auto stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) hit a 52-week high while those of Escorts neared its record high of Rs 1,446, touched on November 19 on strong tractor sales in November.
Primary market
The initial public offering of Burger King India sold like hotcakes as the offer got oversubscribed within a few hours of opening for a subscription on Wednesday. Till 04:15 pm, the issue was subscribed 2.96 times.
Further, in a major development, the UK became the first western country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine, with its regulator clearing Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s shot ahead of decisions in the US and European Union.
On the global front, world stocks hovered near record highs on Wednesday on hopes for a coronavirus vaccine and additional US economic stimulus, though enthusiasm for riskier assets left the dollar stuck at a 2-1/2 year low.
 "Market Wrap, Dec 2: Here's all that happened in the markets today")
