The BSE benchmark Sensex ended the session marginally in the green due to weak global cues.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 21.44 points (0.11 per cent) at 20,149.85 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 8.85 points (0.15 per cent) at 6,029.20.
Except IT, TECk, auto and oil & gas, all other BSE sectoral indices ended in the red.
IT and TECk indices gained the most and were up 2.81 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively, followed by auto 1.66 per cent and oil & gas 0.67 per cent.
On the other hand, capital goods, power, banking and realty indices succumbed to heavy selling pressure and were down 1.99 per cent, 1.87 per cent, 1.84 per cent and 1.83 per cent, respectively.
TCS, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors and GAIL were the top five Sensex gainers, while the top five losers were BHEL, Sun Pharma, Jindal Steel, Sterlite and HDFC.
Marketmen said that earnings for this quarter are expected to be a mixed bag.
“Even though TCS outperformed street expectations, companies other than those in the IT, Pharma and FMCG sectors are not expected to do well. We are eagerly awaiting the first quarter numbers of RIL,” said a dealer from an Indian brokerage.
On bond market action, India Forex Advisors said: “The Reserve Bank of India's move, announced on Monday, to raise an emergency funding rate and cap the amount that banks can borrow from it, followed by the government's relaxation of foreign investment limits in some sectors, has so far had only a limited impact on the rupee.”
European and Asian stocks were down as technology shares slid after Google Inc.and Microsoft Corp. profit lagged behind estimates.
Stoxx 50 was down 13.63 points or 0.5 per cent at 2,704.36, FTSE 100 fell 25.98 points or 0.39 per cent to 6,608.38 and DAX shed 37.09 points or 0.44 per cent to 8,300.
Nikkei dropped 218.59 points or 1.48 per cent to 14,589.90, Hang Seng was down 12.34 points or 0.06 per cent at 21,332.90 and S&P/ASX 200 shed 21.33 points or 0.43 per cent to 4,972.09.
Investors are also keeping an eye on a G20 meeting of central bankers and finance ministers taking place in Moscow.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said this week that the US central bank may start winding down its $85-billion bond-buying programme later this year. But he kept the option of changing the plan if the economic conditions were to deteriorate.
According to latest US economic data, the recovery was on track, with factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region picking up in early July, while new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week.