MUMBAI: With the country's biggest indirect tax reform -- Goods and Services Tax (GST) -- just around the corner and derivatives expiry a day away, the Indian equity markets traded in the red during the mid-afternoon session on Wednesday.

Besides, investors' sentiments were dampened by negative global cues and heavy selling pressure in consumer durables and capital goods stocks.

Around 1.02 p.m., the wider Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) traded below the 9,500-mark. It fell by 14.20 points, or 0.15 per cent, to trade at 9,497.20 points.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 30,988.87 points, traded at 30,872.52 points -- down 85.73 points, or 0.28 per cent, from its previous close at 30,958.25 points.

The Sensex has so far touched a high of 31,000.48 points and a low of 30,868.51 points during intra-day trade.

However, the BSE market breadth was bullish -- with 1,231 advances and 1,157 declines.

"Equity markets opened flat-to-positive and traded flat. Asian markets traded in the negative and that might also have dampened sentiment of our market," Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS.

"Auto, metal, oil and gas sectors traded positive, while capital goods and consumer durables stocks traded in the negative," he noted.

On Tuesday, the benchmark indices closed on a lower note on the back of weak European markets and as investors booked profits.

The BSE Sensex closed at 30,958.25 points -- down 179.96 points, or 0.58 per cent, while the Nifty fell by 63.55 points, or 0.66 per cent, to close at 9,511.40 points.

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