At 2:38PM, the 30-share Sensex is up 27 points 26,803 and the 50-share Nifty has gained 1 point at 8,018.

However, the selling pressure is persistent in the broader markets. The mid and smallcap index has slipped nearly 1.5% and 2% each putting lid to an outperformance seen over the last few weeks. Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark index is flat with a positive bias.

The market breadth is dismal on the BSE with 2,043 shared declining and 838 shares advancing.

On the domestic front, India's maiden low-cost mission to Mars successfully entered the red planet's orbit on Wednesday and was achieved on a budget of $74 million.

Global Markets:

U.S. air strikes in Syria left Asian stock markets jaded on Wednesday, setting the stage for another soft session for European shares.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS initially fell to a four-month low after Wall Street's overnight slide, but managed to steady thanks to gains in Chinese shares.

The dollar was kept in check after U.S. yields fell on geopolitical concerns and dovish statements by a Federal Reserve official.

European equities started the trading session on a lower note, forecasting London's FTSE is down 0.2%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAX have lost 0.5% and 0.1% respectively.

Rupee:

The rupee is trading at 60.99/61.00 versus Tuesday's 60.94/95 close. It is trading off session low of 61.05 on custodian bank dollar sales.

Sectors & Stocks:

On the sectoral front, BSE Realty index is the top losing index down nearly 2.5% followed by Capital Goods, Power, Auto and Consumer Durables indices trading lower between 1-2%. Bankex is down 0.7%. However, BSE Metal and FMCG indices have gained between 0.3-1%.

Engineering conglomerate L&T and BHEL have lost between 1.5-2.5% after Industrial production growth as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) which was released earlier this month slumped to 0.5% in July from 3.4% in the previous month.

Power and Metal stocks are trading lower after the Supreme Court today cancelled all coal block allocations except government-run blocks that operate on a non-JV basis. The criteria fits just 3-4 of the 218 blocks that were deemed illegal by the court in its order earlier. The apex court in its order said that there was no reason to save the other blocks as allocations were arbitary. Hindalco, Tata Steel, Tata Power, Sesa Sterlite and JSPL falling between 0.5-13%.

The financial segment is witnessing pressure after a private poll suggested that the RBI is likely to hold rates at least until the end of the current financial year. ICICI Bank, HDFC, Axis Bank and SBI are down between 1-2%.

Auto major Tata Motors is witnessing profit taking and is down 2% erasing all the previous session gains even as analysts remain bullish on the stock. Also, Mahindra & Mahindra is trading with marginal losses after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "outperform" saying the company's valuations are no longer "attractive". Following the tandem, Hero Motocorp, Baja Auto and Maruti Suzuki have dipped between 1-2%.

Oil and Gas majors RIL, ONGC and GAIL have edged down between 0.5-1% on uncertainty over gas pricing issue.

TCS, Bharti Airtel and Cipla are some of the prominent names in red among others down between 0.7-1.2%.

On the flip side, IT exporters which witnessed profit taking after weaker than expected housing data raised worries over growth in the US economy have gained in the noon trades. Infosys and Wipro are up between 1-2%.

Shares of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are trading higher by up to 3% in an otherwise subdued market in noon deals on the bourses.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL), ITC, Dabur India, Nestle India, Godrej Consumer Products, Britannia Industries and Colgate-Palmolive (India) are up between 1-3% on BSE.

Also, fresh buying is evident in Coal India and NTPC up between 0.5-3% as the Supreme Court today cancelled all coal block allocations except government-run blocks that operate on a non-JV basis.