Volatile trading levels Sensex down 100 points to 38,133

Equity benchmark indices erased early gains in the afternoon session on Wednesday as many sectoral stocks witnessed a sharp downturn.

The morning rally was led by banking and financial stocks. But the gains were capped by losses in petro and auto scrips as the day progressed.

The BSE S & P Sensex closed 100 points lower at 38,133 while the NSE Nifty 50 was down 38 points at 11,445.

Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, Indiabulls Housing Finance, JSW Steel and Vedanta were top gainers at the National Stock Exchange.

Significantly, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) gained 2.3 per cent higher at Rs 739.20 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India had joined the United States, Russia and China in an elite group of countries with capability to target satellites.

Inox Leisure was at an all-time high with 9.9 per cent gain to close at Rs 324.15.

But Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum, Eicher Motors, Asian Paints and Tech Mahindra clocked losses.

Meanwhile, Asian shares closed mixed as investors tried to come to terms with slowdown signs from major economies like China, Europe and Japan.

Uncertainties over trade tariffs between the United States and China as well as Britain's plan to exit from the European Union continued to linger on.