Stock markets ruled at the baseline level after a strong opening today, with capital goods and financials proving to be a big drag.
A spell of profit-booking kicked in for realty and power sectors as well despite positive Asian shares.
Investors are looking forward to the announcement of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy meeting, which begins today, along with a slew of earnings numbers.
The PMI manufacturing, which showed contraction in July, also impacted investor behaviour.
Earlier buying in auto, metal, healthcare and energy lifted the Nifty to an all-time high.
The Sensex resumed higher, but then traded at 32,501.03 at 1159 hours, down 13.91 points, or 0.04 per cent.
However, the broader Nifty was trading slightly up by 1.75 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 10,078.85.
The big losers were HDFC 1.74 per cent, along with ONGC, L&T, Asian Paints and SBI.
The gainers include Dr Reddy's (2.70 per cent), followed by Maruti, Wipro and M&M.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 1,196.94 crore yesterday, as per provisional data. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares of Rs 1,768.43 crore.
Most Asian markets gained on rising confidence in global growth. Growth in China's manufacturing quickened in July, a private survey showed, as output and new orders rose at the fastest pace since February on strong export sales.
In US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at an all-time high yesterday, but the broader market's gains were capped by losses in the technology sector.
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