Equity indices flat, ONGC dips by 2.6%

Equity benchmark indices were volatile but largely flat during early hours on Wednesday on the back of mixed global cues. Market experts said the sentiment was also suppressed by rising Covid-19 cases and a fall in macro readings like industrial production and rising inflation. At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 15 points or 0.03 per cent at 50,349 while the Nifty 50 slipped by 9 points or 0.06 per cent to 14,901. Most sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red except for Nifty IT which rose by 1 per cent. Nifty pharma dipped by 0.7 per cent, metal by 0.6 per cent and PSU bank by 0.5 per cent. Among stocks, HCL Technologies was up by 1.4 per cent to Rs 1,021.10 per share while Tech Mahindra rose by 1.3 per cent, Tata Consultancy Services by 1 per cent and Infosys by 0.8 per cent.