India's benchmark stock indices were little changed after swinging between gains and losses through the midday session on Wednesday.
Fast-moving consumer goods and PSU banking sectors were the top gainers, whereas non-banking financial companies and realty were under pressure.
Asian markets declined on Wednesday as growth in China's services industry slowed, underscoring concerns over the tepid recovery in the world's second-largest economy. A region-wide gauge of equities dropped 0.5% as stocks also fell in Japan, South Korea, and Australia. Futures for benchmarks in the U.S. and Europe edged lower.
Initial losses in Chinese equities deepened, and the offshore yuan reversed an advance after the Caixin China services purchasing managers' index was weaker than expected.
As of 12:19 p.m., the S&P BSE Sensex fell 28 points or 0.04% to 65,450.70 while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 2.30 points or 0.01% to 19,386.70.
ICICI Bank Ltd., ITC Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., HDFC Life Insurance Co., and IndusInd Bank Ltd. were positively contributing to the change in the Nifty 50 Index.
Whereas, HDFC Bank Ltd., HDFC Ltd., Bajaj Finserv Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., and Tata Motors Ltd., weighed on the index.
The broader market indices outperformed their larger peers with the S&P BSE MidCap rising 0.62% and the S&P BSE SmallCap gaining 0.68% through midday trade on Wednesday.
Fourteen out of the 19 sectors compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced, with S&P BSE Fast Moving Consumer Goods gaining the most.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers. About 2,006 stocks rose, 1,337 declined, and 142 remained unchanged on the BSE.
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