Steep volatility was witnessed as the key equity indices once again slipped into negative terrain after briefly turning positive in early afternoon trade. The recovery was supported by gains in Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Axis Bank and IT pivotals. At 12:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 71.70 points or 0.21% at 34,888.02. The Nifty 50 index was down 23.05 points or 0.22% at 10,465.40.

The trading sentiment was dented in early trade after the Reserve Bank of India Governor, Urjit R. Patel, resigned from his post last evening citing personal reasons. However, the market bounced back amid the outcome of the assembly polls in five states.

Ongoing trends suggest that Congress heading for a big win in Chhattisgarh, well ahead in Rajasthan, in Madhya Pradesh it has a close fight with the BJP. The Mizo National Front (MNF) is leading in Mizoram. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is leading in Telangana.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.94%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.59%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1284 shares rose and 849 shares fell. A total of 121 shares were unchanged.

Yes Bank (up 5.53%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 4.55%), Asian Paints (up 2.7%), Axis Bank (up 2.25%), State Bank of India (up 1.41%), TCS (up 0.86%), Infosys (up 0.71%) and Wipro (up 0.57%), were the major Sensex gainers.

ICICI Bank (down 1.89%), HDFC Bank (down 1.18%), HDFC (down 1.09%), Tata Steel (down 0.99%) and ONGC (down 0.77%), were the major Sensex losers.

Meanwhile, the Winter Session of Parliament began today. The nearly month-long session will continue till the 8th of next month. 45 bills and one financial item will be taken up during the session. The Session will have 20 sittings. On the first day, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the day after paying tributes to its sitting and former members who passed away after the Monsoon Session.

Overseas, Asian shares were mostly lower on the back of a volatile session on Wall Street which saw the Dow recover from a 507-point drop.

US stocks closed higher Monday as major indices bounced back from earlier losses as renewed confidence in the strength of the US economy offset lingering worries over the US-China trade dispute.

Investors are increasingly focusing on the December 18-19 Federal Reserve meeting, where the central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates. Comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will be in the spotlight.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed a decision to postpone a vote on her plan for the UK to exit from the European Union.