Benchmark BSE Sensex and Nifty closed on a flat note on Wednesday as profit booking in IT and realty shares negated gains in metal and oil & gas stocks.
The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 35.78 points or 0.06 per cent lower at 58,817.29 in a volatile session. As many as 17 of its components ended in the red while 13 advanced.
The broader NSE Nifty inched up 9.65 points or 0.06 per cent to close at 17,534.75.
The market remained range-bound for the most part of the session as investors kept their exposure low due to weak global cues, traders said.
"Investors were in a cautious mode in anticipation of the release of US inflation statistics, which will set the tone for the next FED policy meeting," Vinod Nair, Head Of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.
"The US CPI inflation during July is projected to remain high, in line with June inflation levels. This, along with strong job data, will compel the Fed to keep taking a tough approach to rein in high inflation levels," Nair added.
Bajaj Finance was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.66 per cent, followed by NTPC, HCL Tech, Wipro, Asian Paints, Ultra Cement and SBI. On the other hand, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, L&T and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers.
Among sectors, metals and capital goods gained the most while IT and realty fell the most. Midcap and Smallcap indexes mildly underperformed the Nifty even as the advance-decline ratio remained below 1:1 at 0.8, Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.
Asian markets slipped on Wednesday after weak inflation readings from China raised concerns over sluggish demand in China, with the focus now turning to key US inflation data to be released later in the day.
Markets traded in a narrow range with a negative bias for the most part of the trading session, as traders followed global direction and exhibited caution ahead of the key US inflation data.