Mumbai, Sep 7 (IANS): Profit booking subdued the Indian equity markets on Wednesday, as both the key indices provisionally closed the day's trade on a flat note.

Heavy selling pressure was witnessed in consumer durables, oil and gas, and finance stocks.

The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) edged down by 25.05 points or 0.28 per cent to 8,917.95 points.

The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 29,035.67 points, provisionally closed at 28,987.78 points (at 3.30 p.m.) -- down 51.66 points or 0.18 per cent from the previous close at 28,978.02 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 29,067.84 points and a low of 28,911.31 points during the intra-day trade.

However, the BSE market breadth was tilted in favour of the bulls -- with 1,423 advances and 1,342 declines.

On Tuesday, both the key Indian indices had touched their 52-week high in almost 18 months and closed the day's trade in the green with gains of over 1.5 per cent each.

The barometer index had gained 445.91 points or 1.56 per cent, while the NSE Nifty surged 133.35 points or 1.51 per cent.