The equity barometers once again slipped into the negative terrain and were hovering near the day's low in early afternoon trade. Metal and pharma stocks witnessed selling. Investors remained cautious ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting which will conclude later in the day.
At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 119.13 points or 0.24% at 50,244.83. The Nifty 50 index lost 55.15 points or 0.37% at 14,855.30.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.13% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.78%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 997 shares rose and 1,723 shares fell. A total of 167 shares were unchanged.