Markets were volatile in a narrow range in late morning deals. Profit taking was seen in software, auto and bank shares after recent gains.
The Sensex after touching a high of 20,009, is now down 23 points at 19963. Nifty is down 16 points at 6040.
Most Asian markets slid in morning trades, with shares in Hong Kong weakening as financials lost ground and Japanese stocks skidding on a firmer yen. Nikkei shed 2.2% at 10,633. Shanghai Composite was down around 1.7%, while Taiwan Weighted have slipped 0.7% in trades.
The rupee is likely to strengthen towards 53 per dollar by end-March and gain further towards 50 by end-December, HSBC says in a report.
Meanwhile, India's growth is expected to inch closer to that of China in near future, a top World Bank economist said here on Tuesday. The World Bank had yesterday released its latest issue of Global Economic Prospects 2013, in which the economies of developing countries like India, China and Brazil are projected to be recovering and higher growth rate.
BSE auto index has slumped 1% to 11,502 as companies started to report their monthly sales figures for December 2012. BSE IT index has slipped 0.6% to 6,355 as investors continued to book profits after TCS and Infosys reported strong quarterly numbers. However, BSE oil & gas index jumoed 0.8% at 9,045. Healthcare, consumer durables and capital goods indices have also advanced in trades.
Reliance has added 2.3% at Rs 865 on the back of heavy volumes on reports that the company has selected Jacobs Engineering Group Inc for engineering and procurement services at Jamnagar complex.
Dr Reddys, Bajaj Auto and Sterlite have added 1% each. Bajaj Auto is set to post its quarterly numbers today.
Tata Motors has dipped over 2% at Rs 324 after the company said that its global sales in December 2012 declined by 13.88% to 98,968 units against 114,920 units sold during the corresponding month in 2011.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Jindal Steel, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Steel have shed 1-2% each.
Kingfisher Airlines has been given a "no objection certificate" from oil companies and some aircraft leasing companies to restart operations, a senior regulatory source said on Wednesday. The stock has surged 3.7% at Rs 14.59 in trades today.
