Mumbai– The key Indian equity indices on Wednesday provisionally closed on a flat note with a negative bias following weakness in the global markets.

Heavy selling was witnessed in metal, consumer durables and auto stocks.

At 3.30 p.m., the broader Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) provisionally closed at 10,718.05 points — down 21.30 points or 0.2 per cent — from the previous close.

The barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) on the BSE, which opened at 35,328.91 points, closed at 35,176.42 points — up 16.06 points or 0.05 per cent — from its previous session’s close

The Sensex touched a high of 35,357.15 points and a low of 35,072.42 during the intra-day trade.

The BSE market breadth was bearish with 1,782 declines and 915 advances.

The major gainers on the BSE were Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC, Asian Paints, HDFC and Axis Bank, while Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever, State Bank of India, Hero MotoCorp and ICICI Bank were among the major losers.

The Indian equity markets were closed on Tuesday on account of Maharashtra Day.

On Monday, the key indices rose riding the back of firm global cues.

The Nifty50 closed at 10,739.35 points — up 47.05 points or 0.44 per cent — from the previous close, while the Sensex, closed at 35,160.36 points — up 190.66 points or 0.55 per cent — from its previous session’s close. (IANS)