Markets remained choppy as the BSE Sensex wiped out all its early gains and fell more than 41 points as pharma and capital goods failed to shape up.
The 30-share index resumed slightly higher at 27,312.35 and hovered in a range of 27,445.24 and 27,304.44 before quoting at 27,265.11 at 1227 hours, a loss of 41.72 points, or 0.15 per cent, from its last close.
The 50-share Nifty was also trading lower by 12 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 8,249.65 at 1227 hours.
The major gainer was Bharti (up 1.47 per cent), followed by Hindalco, Reliance and ONGC. However, Dr Reddy's fell 2.82 per cent.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 523.69 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
Overseas, Asian stocks were trading mixed following a lacklustre close from the Wall Street. Key indices in China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea moved up to 0.32 per cent while Hong Kong and Taiwan moved down by up to 0.52 per cent.
US stocks closed slightly lower yesterday as investors grappled with mixed earnings reports while a sell-off in the healthcare sector weighed on Nasdaq.
