Indian equities sailed through a volatile session on Wednesday to end flat as the benchmark Nifty found vital support. A reversal of declines in information-technology stocks helped offset losses in pharma and financials.
The NSE Nifty 50 ended 18.95 points or 0.08% lower at 23,688.95, while BSE Sensex lost 50.62 points or 0.06% to close at 78,148.49. During the session, the Nifty declined as much as 0.89% to an intraday low of 23,496, while the Sensex fell 0.91% to 77,486.
Oil & Natural Gas Corp. remained the top gainer on the Nifty for the second straight day, rising nearly 3%.
"We have seen wild swings in the market as if there is a tug of war between bears and bulls," Shivangi Sarda, analyst at Motilal Oswal, said. "The VIX has also spiked up as happens in January."
While the upside remains capped on the Nifty at 23,800, the index did not break the support at 23,500, which came as a breather, she said. "However, swings cannot be ruled out."
HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Trent Ltd. and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. weighed on the Nifty the most in terms of points contribution.
Reliance Industries Ltd., ITC Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and ONGC led the gains in the index.
Fourteen out of the 21 sectors on the BSE fell, with Consumer Durables declined the most.
Nine out of the 12 sectors on the National Stock Exchange declined, with the Nifty Pharma, Finance and Metal falling the most.
The broader markets underperformed the benchmark indices as the BSE MidCap and SmallCap ended 1.09% and 1.12% down respectively.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers as 2,579 stocks declined, 1,391 advanced and 96 remained unchanged on the BSE.
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