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After a weak start, the market remained under pressure for most of the session, with a clear tussle between buyers and sellers.
A sharp 86-point rebound in the final hour helped the Nifty pare losses and close near the flatline.
Titan and IT stocks such as HCL Tech, Wipro and Tech Mahindra led the gains on the index. On the flip side, Cipla, Maruti, Tata Motors' passenger vehicle business and Power Grid faced selling pressure and ended lower.
Sectoral trends were mixed, with IT, consumer durables and pharma emerging as top performers, while auto, oil and gas and realty stocks remained under pressure.
In the broader market, midcap and smallcap stocks outperformed the benchmarks, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices rising around 0.4%.
Globally, investor attention remains on key US labour market data, including Non Farm Payrolls and JOLTS job openings, due later in the day.
Analysts expect the market to remain in a consolidation phase, with profit booking visible at higher levels and stock specific action driven by Q3 business updates.
Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said the ongoing correction is likely to be temporary, with the Nifty expected to find support in the 26,100 to 26,000 zone. He sees immediate resistance around 26,400.
Nandish Shah of HDFC Securities said that despite near term softness, the broader positional trend for the index remains bullish.
He added that 26,050 to 26,100 should act as a strong support band, while 26,373 is seen as an immediate hurdle on the upside.
Rupak De of LKP Securities said the Nifty remained volatile through the session, though the trading range stayed relatively narrow. He said that the index found support near the 21 day EMA.
De expects the index to remain range bound between 26,000 and 26,300 in the near term, with a decisive move below 26,000 signalling further downside, while a breakout above 26,300 could set the stage for a directional upmove.
