The BSE benchmark index Sensex declined by 31 points in early trade, after hitting 30-week high, due to mild selling mainly in banking, capital goods, consumer durable and metal stocks.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged higher after the company said after market hours on Tuesday that it has agreed to form a joint venture with Russian petrochemical company SIBUR to produce butyl rubber in India.
The BSE barometer resumed higher at 18,490.87 and hovered in a range of 18,523.78 and 18,397.76 before quoting at 18,397.40 at 11.30 a.m., showing a net fall of 31.21 points from its last close.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also moved down by 14.85 points or 0.26 per cent to 5,592.30 points.
Major losers were SBI (3.52 per cent), ICICI Bank (1.72 per cent), Larsen (1.44 per cent), DLF (1.43 per cent) and M&M (1.16 per cent).
Volatility is expected as traders roll over positions in futures & options (F&O) segment from the near-month February 2012 series to March 2012 series. The near-month February 2012 F&O contracts will expire on Thursday.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1400.17 crore on Tuesday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Asian markets were mixed in the early trade amid concerns over Europe’s Greek aid deal and higher oil prices.
Key benchmark indices in Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Singapore were down by between 0.1 per cent to 0.43 per cent.
Key benchmark indices in China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan rose by between 0.09 per cent to 0.96 per cent.
