New Delhi, Mar 23 (IANS): Paring the entire opening session gains, India's key equity indices -- Sensex and Nifty -- settled on a negative note on Wednesday.

Sensex settled 0.5 per cent or 304 points lower at 57,685 points, whereas Nifty 0.4 per cent or 70 points down at 17,246 points.

"Markets traded lacklustre and lost nearly half a per cent amid mixed global cues. After the initial uptick, the benchmark gradually inched lower as the day progressed and settled closer to the day's low. The hawkish statement from the US Fed on the possibility of aggressive rate hikes spooked investors," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research at Religare Broking.

Besides, mixed updates on the lingering geopolitical tensions in Ukraine also dented market sentiment, Mishra said adding, in such a scenario it is prudent to stick with the sectors or themes which are doing well but recommended to avoid going overboard.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty auto was the top loser, declining 1.04 per cent during the session.

"After the recent rally, the market is getting cautious. Volatility is back due to inflationary pressures triggered by supply constraints. While consistently rising input cost & fall in demand due to surge in Covid cases in parts of the world, war & high commodity prices are impacting earnings growth which can lead to downgrade in outlook," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Also, an end to the war and rise in supply can help India sustain its resilience or else it will be a challenge in the short-term, Nair added.

Among the individual stocks, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC, Britannia, Bharti Airtel, and Sun Pharma were the top five losers among the Nifty 50 companies, declining 2.6 per cent, 2.4 per cent, 2.1 per cent, 1.9 per cent, 1.8 per cent, respectively.