After seeing strong gains in the last two trading sessions, the benchmark indices were volatile following mixed global cues.
At 9:58 am, the Sensex was down 11 points at 9,572, and the Nifty was down 10 points at 2,909.
But CNX Mid Cap 100 gained 14 points to be at 3,406.
Reliance Capital, M&M, TCS, ICICI Bank, BHEL, Siemens, PNB, Reliance Communication and HDFC Bank are gainers while Tata Motors, ITC, Grasim, BPCL, SAIL, ONGC, Maruti, Tata Steel and Jaiprakash Associates are soft.
Asian markets are trading mixed. Straits Times was up 0.6%. Hang Seng, Shanghai and Taiwan advanced 0.1-0.5%. However, Kospi was down 0.5% and Nikkei fell 0.15%.
US markets ended flat as bank-rescue plan gets delayed for single day. President Barack Obama addressed first press conference post markets, which focussed on creation of 4 million jobs and proper use of $350 billion TARP funds & improving housing market.
Crude oil declined nearly 1.5% at around USD 39.5 a barrel on Monday.