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The Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower on Wednesday, tracking lower Asian markets as oil prices slumped, with investors waiting for the minutes of a central bank policy meeting held earlier this month.
The minutes are likely to delve into the details of interest rates, with a high likelihood that more members softened their inflation outlook, said DBS Group Research in a note.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended lower by 13.89 points or 0.04 per cent at 31,283.64 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty closed down 19.9 points or 0.21 per cent at 9,633.60.
Among BSE sectoral indices, FMCG index was up 0.73 per cent, followed by realty 0.51 per cent, power 0.19 per cent and capital goods 0.06 per cent. On the other hand, metal index fell the most by 1.2 per cent, oil & gas 0.86 per cent, PSU 0.68 per cent and auto 0.66 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Kotak Bank (+0.85%), Sun Pharma (+0.8%), Wipro (+0.73%), Maruti (+0.71%) and HDFC Bank (+0.7%), while the major losers were Tata Motors (-2.11%), ONGC (-2.1%), Lupin (-1.63%), Adani Ports (-1.58%) and TCS (-1.45%).
“Markets are just consolidating after seeing a steep run-up, as every now and then markets have hit fresh highs,” said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice-president of research at SMC Global Securities.
Oil explorers fell after global oil prices hit seven-month lows, with Oil and Natural Gas Corp falling as much as 2.54 per cent and Oil India down as much as 1.91 per cent.
Airlines stocks however rose on expectations of lower jet fuel prices, with SpiceJet Ltd and Jet Airways up about 2.5 per cent, and InterGlobe Aviation, parent of IndiGo Air, climbing 1.6 per cent.
Price of aviation fuel is the biggest cost factor for low-budget carriers.
Financial stocks also dragged the NSE index lower for the second straight session, with the Nifty Financial Services Index down as much as 0.5 per cent.
Larsen & Toubro Ltd rose as much as 1.8 per cent after the government's Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) sold a 2.5 per cent stake in the company for more than Rs 4,000 crore ($619 million).
Asian markets
A renewed slump in oil prices to seven-month lows put Asian investors on edge on Wednesday, overshadowing a decision by US index provider MSCI to add mainland Chinese stocks to one of its popular benchmarks.
The slide in energy costs boosted bond prices and flattened yield curves as investors priced in lower inflation for longer, while safe-haven flows underpinned the US dollar.
Oil prices dipped on Wednesday, trading around multi-month lows as investors discounted the evidence of strong compliance by OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers with a deal to cut global output.
Global benchmark Brent was down 11 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $45.91 barrel at 0345 GMT after falling nearly 2 per cent in the previous session to its lowest settlement since November.
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