Indian shares struggled for direction on Wednesday, as investors avoided large bets due to uncertainty around the outcome of local general elections and ahead of the Federal Reserve minutes due later in the day.
The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50,opens new tab was up 0.19% at 22,571.1 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex, opens new tab added 0.23% to 74,123.13, as of 10:55 am IST.
Foreign selling pressure and worries about the results of the national elections have been weighing on investor sentiment for the last two weeks. The volatility index, opens new tab - a key gauge for measuring market unease - was hovering around 19-month highs on Wednesday.
"Markets are displaying their averseness to uncertainty, which is expected to persist till the outcome of general elections," Siddharth Oberoi, Founder of Prudent Equity said.
The results of the elections are due on June 4.
Meanwhile, minutes from the Fed's latest policy meeting will offer clues about the rate cut trajectory in the world's largest economy.
US rate-sensitive IT stocks, opens new tab added 0.42%. Indian IT companies earn a bulk of their revenue from US clients.
Reliance Industries, opens new tab, the second-heaviest stock on the Nifty 50, rose 1.7%. The refiner was among the top gainers in the energy sector, opens new tab, which rose 0.74% as crude prices slipped for a third straight session.
Fast moving consumer goods companies, opens new tab, which are seen as "defensive" bets during volatility, rose 1.38%, with Hindustan Unilever, opens new tab and Britannia Industries, opens new tab leading gains on the Nifty 50 index.
Embattled digital payments firm Paytm, opens new tab pared early losses to trade flat after its fourth-quarter loss widened, hit by weakness in its payments and financial services business.
More domestically-focused smallcaps, opens new tab shed 0.3% while midcaps, opens new tab were largely unchanged.
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