Key equity benchmarks slipped into negative terrain after briefly entering positive zone in early afternoon trade. The Nifty was trading above the 11,000-mark. Recovery on bourses was supported by firmness in auto stocks.

At 12:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 9.75 points or 0.03% at 37,301.88. The Nifty 50 index was up 3.15 points or 0.03% at 11,032.45.

Broader market turned positive. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.02%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.02%.

The market breadth was still negative. On the BSE, 993 shares rose and 1161 shares fell. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.

Reliance Capital soared 7.89% to Rs 50.6 after the company reported a robust Q1 2019 result. On consolidated basis, the company's net profit rose 313% to Rs 1218 crore on 31.07% surge in total income to Rs 6083 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018.

Auto stocks edged higher. Maruti Suzuki India (up 1.63%), Ashok Leyland (up 1.28%), Mahindra and Mahindra (up 0.97%), TVS Motor Company (up 0.95%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.93%), Escorts (up 0.83%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.81%) and Eicher Motors (up 0.48%) advanced.

The S&P BSE Auto index was up 0.84% at 15,699.9, outperforming the benchmark BSE Sensex.

MTNL was up 1.63% to Rs 6.24. The company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1054.6 crore in Q1 June 2019 over a net loss of Rs 943.88 crore in Q1 June 2018. The company's net sales declined 15.3% to Rs 433.85 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018.

Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India jumped 6.4% to Rs 1578 after the company reported a strong Q1 numbers for June quarter. On standalone basis, the company's net profit jumped 25.4% to Rs 63.6 crore on a 19.9% rise in net sales to Rs 951.91 crore in Q1 June 2019 as compared to Q1 June 2018.

On derivatives front, the NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.93% at 16.51. The Nifty futures for the month of August was at 11,058.75 as compared to the spot at 11,038.50.

On the options front, Nifty option chain for 29 August 2019 expiry showed a maximum call open interest (OI) of 26.51 lakh contracts at the 11000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 40.41 lakh contracts was seen at 11000 strike price. Options data suggested 11000-mark as a crucial level for Nifty for the month of August 2019.