The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes came off intraday low levels in noon deals while metal, pharma, private bank and FMCG shares were facing selling pressure. However, buying in state-run banks and auto stocks helped benchmarks recover from lower levels. Earlier in the day, Sensex fell as much as 281 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday low of 11,243.

As of 12:29 pm, the Sensex was down 44 points at 38,363 and Nifty fell 19 points to 11,303.

The equities have seen broad-based gains in the last few sessions and the Nifty 50 had gained nearly 4 per cent over the last six sessions.

Eight of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower led by the Nifty Pharma and Metal indexes over 1 per cent decline. FMCG, information technology, private bank and financial services shares were also witnessing mild selling pressure.

On the other hand, Nifty PSU Bank index was top gainer, the index rose 3 per cent on report that state-run lenders will soon be granted Maharatna, Navratna and Mini Ratna status. Media and auto shares were also witnessing buying interest.

Mid- and small-cap shares were trading on a muted note as both the indexes were trading on a flat note.

State Bank of India was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 4.15 per cent to Rs 203. Adani Ports, Eicher Motors, Zee Entertainment, HCL Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp, Tech Mahindra and IndusInd Bank were also among the gainers.

On the flipside, Hindalco, Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Britannia Industries, Titan, Wipro, Sun Pharma, TCS, Bharat Petroleum, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards.

The overall market breadth was neutral as 1,294 shares were advancing while 1,185 were declining on the BSE.