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Most of the session's gains for both the indices were wiped out as investors rushed to book profits ahead of F&O expiry on Thursday and also due to concerns over stretched valuations.
The stock market maintained its record-setting spree for the sixth straight session, taking the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty to new record closing highs as banking and IT counters kept buyers engaged.
The BSE Sensex ended the session at 36,161.64, up 21.66 points or 0.06 per cent; and the NSE Nifty closed at 11,086, higher by 2.30 points or 0.02 per cent.
However, most of the session's gains for both the indices were wiped out as investors rushed to book profits ahead of F&O expiry on Thursday and also due to concerns over stretched valuations.
Losses in some heavyweights were balanced by banking counters amid expectations towards the government's fresh announcements towards recapitalisation plans.
Overall, investor sentiment remained upbeat as foreign funds have been pumping funds into Indian equities continuously for the last few sessions, helping the key indices breaking records after records.
"Market took a pause after touching a new high whereas some heavy weights witnessed volatility ahead of F&O expiry on Thursday. Earnings upgrade is more likely after seeing the initial set of results but rich valuation and upcoming economic events may interrupt aggressive buying.
“Meanwhile, investors are gradually shifting focus to defensive sectors like IT & pharma due to a revival in outlook and safe haven asset like gold," said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.
The 30-share Sensex rallied to an all-time high of 36,268.19 intra-day.
However, the emergence of profit-booking at record levels ahead of January derivatives expiry sent it lower to 36,036.51. It finally settled 21.66 points, or 0.06 per cent, higher at 36,161.64 -- surpassing its previous record closing of 36,139.98 reached on Tuesday.
After hitting a fresh intra-day record of 11,110.10, the 50-share NSE Nifty ended at 11,086, recording a modest rise of 2.30 points, or 0.02 per cent. It breached its previous record closing of 11,083.70 hit on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued their buying activity. They bought shares worth a net Rs 1,229.35 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases to the tune of Rs 169.03 crore on Tuesday, provisional data showed.
Among Sensex components, shares of largest State-run lender SBI stood out as a bright spot by climbing 3.62 per cent, followed by Adani Ports at 2.46 per cent.
Others that supported the key indices to scale new highs include TCS, ITC Ltd, Yes Bank, ONGC, Dr Reddy's, HDFC Ltd, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, Infosys, NTPC, Coal India and Kotak Bank, maintained their upward journey and gathered gains up to 2.30 per cent.
However, telecom stocks tumbled up to 6.5 per cent after Reliance Jio decided to offer extra data on some plans, intensifying the tariff war in the sector.
Bharti Airtel emerged worst performer in the Sensex kitty by losing 6.51 points after Reliance Jio decided to offer 500 MB extra data to its subscribers using 1GB and 1.5 GB per data packs.
Other telcos such as Tata Tele, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communication fell by up to 5.38 per cent.
Investors also booked profits in market heavyweights such as Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, M&M, L&T and Wipro, falling up to 3.46 per cent.
The broader markets, however, succumbed to profit-booking at record levels as the smallcap and midcap indices fell up to 0.90 per cent.
Sector-wise, the BSE IT index rose 1.53 per cent, followed by PSU 1.13 per cent, FMCG 0.54 per cent, Tech 0.49 per cent, Infrastructure 0.37 per cent, Healthcare 0.24 per cent, Oil & Gas 0.15 per cent and Realty 0.12 per cent.
While telecom, consumer durables, metal, capital goods, auto and power ended in the negative zone, falling up to 3.54 per cent.
Other Asian markets ended mixed and European shares were down in their late morning session. Among Asian key indices, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.08 per cent, Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.37 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei down 0.76 percent.
In the Eurozone, Paris CAC 40 was 0.10 per cent down, while Frankfurt's DAX rose 0.07 per cent. London's FTSE too fell 0.25 per cent.
Photograph: Arko Dutta/Reuters.