Subdued trade on the market continued, with benchmark indices trading around key milestones.

The Sensex was down 52.57 points at 29408.88, while the Nifty was down 18.05 points at 9132.75.

The market breadth was very narrow as 1,292 shares advanced against a decline of 1,289 shares, while 142 shares are unchanged.

NTPC, Sun Pharma and Bharti Infratel were among top losers, while GAIL and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories were the top gainers.

The wholesale price index (WPI) for March was reported at 5.7 percent, a fall against a 6.55 percent during February.

Kicking off the divestment process for the current financial year, the government has cleared the sale of stakes in multiple state-owned companies. It will be offloading 10 percent stake each in PFC, SAIL, NTPC & NHPC, 5 percent in REC, 15 percent in NLC India, and 3 percent in IOC via offer for sale.