Sensex, Nifty End Choppy Session Little Changed

Indian shares fluctuated before finishing little changed on Wednesday.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex erased early gains to close at 72,152, down 34 points from its previous close.

The broader NSE Nifty index settled little changed with a positive bias at 21,930.50 after a volatile session.

IT stocks fell on profit taking after recent strong gains. TCS, Infosys and Tech Mahindra lost 1-3 percent.

Metal and financials advanced, with Axis Bank, JSW Steel, HDFC Life, Grasim and SBI surging 2-4 percent.

Trent soared 19.5 percent after the retailer delivered strong trading performance for the third quarter ended December.

Paytm jumped 10 percent after reports that CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma has met with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday to discuss the crisis the company is facing.

Subex, a fraud management solutions provider, slumped 8.3 percent after widening its Q3 loss.

Global cues were mixed as investors weighed hawkish comments from a slew of Federal Reserve officials and waited to see whether Chinese officials will unveil more effective measures to sustain a nascent market recovery.

The dollar slipped and Treasury yields held steady amid cautious optimism regarding U.S. economy‘s trajectory. Gold was little changed in European trade on hawkish Fed talk.

Oil prices traded higher for a third consecutive session on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said it expects U.S. output to remain largely steady through 2025, easing worries of excess supply.