At close, the Sensex was down 109.94 points or 0.20% at 54,208.53, and the Nifty was down 19 points or 0.12% at 16,240.30, as equity markets turned volatile during the afternoon session, and ultimately ended lower on Wednesday. Tata Consumer Products, Shree Cements, UltraTech Cement, Cipla, and HUL were among the top Nifty gainers. However, the losers were Power Grid Corporation, BPCL, Apollo Hospitals, Tata Motors, and Tech Mahindra. About 1865 shares have advanced, 1409 shares declined, and 108 shares are unchanged. The BSE MidCap index dipped 0.13 percent while the BSE SmallCap index added 0.33 percent. Sectorally, the Nifty Realty and PSU Bank indices were the worst hit as they slipped 1.75 percent and 1.6 percent on the NSE. Nifty Bank index fell 0.4 percent, Nifty IT was down 0.5 percent, and Nifty PSU Bank tanked 1.6 percent On the flip side, defensive sectors FMCG and Pharma rose over 1 percent each. India VIX, the volatility index, settled 2 percent down at the 22.30 level.