Sensex on the backfoot, Nifty steps below 9,600
Major gainers were RIL (2.60%), followed by Dr Reddy's Lab, Hero MotoCorp, PowerGrid and TCS.
The Sensex washed out initial gains and the NSE dropped below 9,600 in the late morning trade on Wednesday on account of selling pressure, mainly in the metal counter.
The 30-share gauge resumed higher before dropping to 31,079 at 1209 hours, down 24.49 points, or 0.08%.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also moved down by 14 points, or 0.15% to 9,592.90 at 1209 hours.
Major gainers were RIL (2.60%), followed by Dr Reddy's Lab, Hero MotoCorp, PowerGrid and TCS.
However, Wipro fell and so did Asian Paints, Cipla and ITC.
Foreign funds sold shares net Rs 312.40 crore on Tuesday as per provisional figures.
Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading lower in their morning trade as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's policy move on Wednesday.
In the US, Dow and S&P 500 closed at record on Tuesday as technology shares rebounded following a two-day decline.