Nine of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty PSU Bank index's over 1 per cent decline.
The Indian equity benchmarks resumed decline after a day's pause in the previous session dragged by losses in banking, metal, information technology and auto shares. For most part of the day, benchmarks flip-flopped in gains and losses. The Sensex moved in a range of 789 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 17,491 and low of 17,258.
The Sensex slipped 145 points to close at 57,997 and Nifty 50 index declined 30 points to settle at 17,322.
Markets succumbed to profit booking after yesterday's strong rebound, analysts said.
"Markets are currently dancing to the global tunes and we don’t see this changing anytime soon. The US Fed meeting minutes and lingering tension over the Russia-Ukraine crisis will remain on the radar. Besides, the scheduled weekly expiry would further add to the choppiness. We reiterate our cautious stance and suggest waiting for further clarity," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research at Religare Broking.
Nine of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty PSU Bank index's over 1 per cent decline. Nifty Bank, Auto, Information Technology, Media, Metal and Private Bank indices also fell between 0.4-0.6 per cent.
On the other hand, pharma, realty, healthcare, consumer durable and oil & gas indices ended higher.
Mid- and small-cap shares ended mixed as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 0.3 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.73 per cent.
Among the individual shares, Vedant Fashions, parent of Indian ethnic wear brand maker - Manyavar, Mohey, Manthan and Tvamev, made a strong stock market debut on Wednesday. Vedant Fashions shares opened for trading at Rs 936, up Rs 70 or 8.08 per cent from its initial public offering (IPO) price of Rs 866. The stock rose as much as 14.66 per cent to hit high of Rs 993.
State Bank of India was top Nifty loser, the stock fell nearly 2 per cent to close at Rs 515. ICICI Bank, NTPC, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, UPL, Tata Motors, Hindalco, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma, Larsen & Toubro and Power Grid also fell between nearly 1-1.7 per cent.
On the flipside, Divi's Labs, ONGC, Adani Ports, Indian Oil, HDFC Life, Bharat Petroleum, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Dr Reddy's Labs and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the gainers.
The overall market breadth was positive as 2,028 shares ended higher while 1,325 closed lower on the BSE.