Axis Bank was one of the loser on the NSE Nifty.

The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 were trading flat by afternoon as markets recovered most of the day's losses. The S&P BSE Sensex slipped as much as 268.98 points to an intraday low of 37,128.26. The Nifty 50 barometer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) fell as much as 86.00 points to an intraday low of 10,999.40. The drags in Dalal Street were led by losses in media, realty and banking stocks. At 01:22 pm, the Sensex traded at 37,394.65, down 2.59 points or 0.01 per cent from the previous close, and the Nifty was at 11,085.75, flat at 0.35 points.

Top laggards on the 30-scrip index were Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, NTPC and ITC, trading between 0.80 and 4.67 per cent lower.

ZEEL, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel and Bharti Infratel- trading between 1.92 per cent and 5.54 per cent lower - were among the main losers on the 50-scrip benchmark index.

According to analysts, weak corporate results continued to hamper the indexes in their worst month since September last year.

"Earnings continue to disappoint in this season as well, reinforced by slowdown commentary from companies across sectors," Rajesh Cheruvu, chief investment officer at Validus Wealth was quoted as saying in a Reuters report.

Tech Mahindra Ltd fell as much as 5 per cent after the company's profit missed estimates. Axis Bank was one of loser on the NSE Nifty due to weaker-than-expected earnings on higher provisions, with the stock falling as much as 5 per cent.

Coffee Day Enterprises touched a fresh low, hitting the lower circuit for the second day with a 20 per cent fall, after police retrieved the body of the cafe chain's founder, who was missing since Monday night and had reportedly committed suicide.

(With inputs from Reuters)