Sensex falls 28 pts amid see-saw trade

In a topsy-turvy trade, the BSE Sensex closed nearly 28 points lower as investors remained concerned over the government's ability to push through "struggling" reforms in the upcoming Budget.

Extending losses for the third session in a row, the 30-share index closed down by 27.77 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 17,145.52 points. It moved between 17,239.35 points and 17,008.77 points during the day.

The broad-based NSE 50-issue Nifty ended a bit lower by 1.95 points or 0.04 per cent at 5,220.45.

"Markets are indecisive post state poll results and now looking at monetary policy and union Budget," Ashika Stock Brokers Research Head Paras Bothra said.

The index had dived 190 points on Tuesday after investors hopes of a boost to economic reforms were dashed by poor performance of Congress, which heads the UPA government at the Centre, in state Assembly elections.

Some analysts, however, said markets had already factored in "struggling reforms agenda" and attributed Wednesday's huge volatility to weak global cues.

Losses in market major Reliance Industries, which fell by by 1.94 per cent to Rs 761.35, and telecom giant Bharti mainly pulled down the Sensex. Bharti closed down Bharti Airtel by 1.91 per cent to Rs 329.55.

Metal and refinery counters continued to bore the brunt of selling for the third straight day while some of the realty, IT and banking stocks attracted buying interest.

Selling in Sterlite, TCS, NTPC and ONGC also weighed negatively on the market while smart rise in Infosys Tech, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Wipro helped the Sensex to pare its decline.