The benchmark indices slipped into the red in late morning trade on bouts of profit-booking in key telecom, FMCG, auto and realty stocks ahead of derivatives expiry.
At 1.30 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 28,620, down 41.25 points while the broader Nifty50 was trading 8,866, down 12.60 points.
Trading sentiment was affected due to lack of definitive global cues as Asian markets turned lacklustre after initial gains.
US markets remained closed on the account of 'Presidents Day' holiday which left investors with few options to trade.
Oil and gas, metal, consumer durables and IT stocks witnessed buying interest.
Major laggards included Bharti Airtel, down 2.46 per cent, ITC, down 1.41 per cent, Coal India, down 0.92 per cent, M&M, down 0.70 per cent and TCS, down 0.51 per cent.
Among the gainers were HUL (1.43 per cent), Axis Bank (1.23 per cent), Asian Paints (0.88 per cent) and GAIL (0.67 per cent).
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