In a volatile trade, the BSE benchmark Sensex today recovered from early losses but was still quoted lower by 12 points in late morning deals on the back of weak Asian cues.
Shares of realty, consumer durable and refinery sectors declined on selling pressure while those of auto, health care and FMCG sectors firmed up on good buying support.
The BSE-30 share index, Sensex, resumed lower at 20,066.94 and hovered in a range of 20,066.14 and 20,156.02 before quoting 20,135.22 points.
It showed a loss of 12.42 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 1030 hours from its last close.
The NSE 50-share barometer Nifty also moved down by 8.25 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 6,096.05 at 1030 hours.
The market may remain volatile today as traders roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near-month May 2013 series to June 2013 series.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 643.81 crore yesterday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Asian stocks declined in the early trade undermined by an overnight pullback in global equities as investors assessed the implications of a potential softening of the Federal Reserve's massive monetary stimulus programme.
Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and Indonesia were down by 0.06 to 2.75 per cent.
US stocks fell sharply yesterday with Wall Street giving back the prior day's gains, amid worries over global-growth prospects and fears that the Federal Reserve will begin to scale back its bond-buying program.
