The market pared gains in the afternoon trade. At 13:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 26.44 points or 0.07% at 39,461.38. The Nifty 50 index was up 9.45 points or 0.08% at 11,805.90.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.83%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.41%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1286 shares rose and 948 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 3.07%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 2.70%), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (up 2.47%), Yes Bank (up 1.77%) and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (up 1.38%) advanced.

Britannia Industries (down 2.64%), Indiabulls Housing Finance (down 2.55%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (down 0.79%), Infosys (down 0.64%) and IndusInd Bank (down 0.59%) declined.

NTPC was up 1.19%. NTPC had participated in the Uttar Pradesh New & Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA)'s tender for 500 MW Solar capacity with two bids of 20 MW each at Auraiya and Rihand. Reverse Auction was carried out on 25 June 2019 and NTPC has won entire 40 MW of Solar capacity bid by it at a levelised tariff of Rs 3.02/kWh applicable for 25 years. The projects shall be set up by NTPC under EPC mode and shall add to the installed capacity of NTPC. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 25 June 2019.

Meanwhile, an HSBC survey on more than 2,500 companies across 14 markets in the world reportedly showed that businesses in India are very optimistic about their growth prospects. Almost nine in ten (89%) Indian firms expect to grow over the next two years. The survey showed that Indian businesses have the greatest investment appetite across the 14 markets and none mentioned any plans to decrease their level of investment. Moreover, just like Indonesia, the UK, the US and Mexico, Indian businesses are more likely to fund from their existing profits. Indian businesses, second only to Indonesia, intend to invest in activities ranging from skills and training to selling more products/ services online, enhancing customer experience and on research/innovation and sustainability.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday night as part of his three-day visit to India. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have a meeting scheduled for today. India's data norms opposed by US digital majors, contentious trade issues, H1B visa, and terrorism are likely to come up for discussion in the three-day meeting.

Overseas, European stocks opened lower while Most Asian stocks were trading in the red on Wednesday after US Federal Reserve officials tempered expectations in the markets for aggressive monetary easing.

US stocks slid lower Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central banks was still monitoring the economy for signs of weakness and would seek to avoid a knee-jerk reaction in terms of cutting benchmark interest rates.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted the Fed will take a wait-and-see approach given how rapid recent economic changes have been. Powell on Tuesday also said the central bank is insulated from short-term political pressures, pushing back against US President Donald Trump's demand for a significant rate cut.

Meanwhile, investors looked toward developments on the US-China trade front, with Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping set to meet at the G-20 summit later this week. Investors are also watching the Middle East, with continuing tensions between the US and Iran. Iran said Trump's decision Monday to impose additional sanctions on Iran had closed the door to diplomatic negotiations.