Sensex and Nifty 50 fluctuated between gains and losses amidst heightened volatility in the lead-up to the election results.

At 11:33 am, the Sensex was down 203 points or 0.3 percent at 72,901 and the Nifty 50 was down 39 points or 0.2 percent at 22,177. About 2,084 shares advanced, 1,176 shares declined, and 88 shares remained unchanged.

The broader markets showed resilience with BSE Midcap rising 0.6 percent and BSE Smallcap gaining nearly 1 percent.

Investors also await crucial inflation data from the US later in the day which will provide further cues to the investors regarding the Federal Reserve's next move.

Sectoral Trend

More sectoral indices fell into red around noon. Five out of the 13 major sectoral indices shed gains while the remaining nine gained. Nifty PSU Bank was the major gainer as it rose 1.6 percent while Nifty Private Bank fell 0.6 percent emerging as the biggest loser.

Fundamental View

"Voter turnout and its impact on the election outcome is making the market nervous," said Sunil Damania, Chief Investment Officer, MojoPMS. "The market is going with the equation that lower turnout means the BJP may get a lower number of seats as compared to the 2019 election."

Damania said that the market should not argue about whether lower turnout is better for the incumbent government or not. "If the market falls before the general election outcome, one can expect a rally post-result. But if there is no meaningful correction, the market may behave like in 2019, where Indices moved down post-election result."

After the elections, the market will start speculating on the budget announcement and hence the market will likely remain volatile for the next few months, Damania said.

Technical View

"We now have our eyes on 22,400-22,460 as the next objective," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, at Geojit Financial Services. "Alternatively, pull back below 22,170 will however deflate the upside momentum, calling for slippages to 22,000, but, a collapse beyond the same is less expected, at least for the day," he said.

Key Nifty gainers

Cipla, Coal India, NTPC, Dr Reddy's, Dr Reddy's

Key Nifty losers

Eicher Motors, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank

Key Sensex gainers

NTPC, HCLTech, M&M, Power Grid

Key Sensex losers

Sun Pharmaceuticals, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, Asian Paints

Stock moves

Cipla: Shares soared 4 percent after three block deals in the counter took place on the exchanges. Around 2.04 crore shares, making up a 2.52 percent stake in drugmaker Cipla changed hands in the three block deals.

Mankind Pharma: Shares surged 4.5 percent after CNBC-TV18 reported the company's plans to acquire Bharat Serum & Vaccines from private equity firm Advent International.