Equity benchmark indices climbed in early trade on February 29 but later faced volatile trends amid sluggish global market cues and the scheduled monthly derivatives expiry.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 93.51 points to 72,398.39 in early trade. The Nifty went up by 12.55 points to 21,963.70. Both benchmark indices were encountering volatility later.
Among the Sensex firms, Reliance Industries, Maruti, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India were the major gainers.
Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong traded lower while Shanghai quoted in the green.
The U.S. markets ended marginally lower on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,879.23 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
The BSE benchmark fell by 790.34 points or 1.08% to settle at 72,304.88 on Wednesday. The Nifty slumped 247.20 points or 1.11% to settle at 21,951.15.
"The market has suddenly turned unpredictable amidst high volatility. The volatility will continue today, too, being the last day of the monthly expiry," said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.17% to $83.54 a barrel.
