nifty
A floor trader monitors share prices during afternoon trading. REUTERS

India's broader NSE Nifty index declined for a sixth straight session on Wednesday as state-owned lenders continued to grapple with higher provisioning norms for defaulted loans.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex declined 0.4 percent at 30,834 while Nifty was down 0.21 percent at 9,491.

Trading was volatile ahead of the expiry of June derivatives contract expiry on Thursday. Market breadth was in the favour of losers, with about 2 stocks declining to every 1 stock that advanced.

The Nifty PSU Bank index fell 0.6 percent, extending its drop to another session. Shares of state-owned lender State Bank of India and Central Bank dropped 1 percent each.

Jewellery stocks also fell. PC Jeweller shares down 2 percent, Titan Co lost 1.6 percent while Rajesh Exports shed 1.8 percent.

Heavyweight Reliance Industries fell 2.6 percent.

Among the gainers, S&P BSE Metal index rose 1.6 percent, led by NMDC, Tata Steel and National Aluminium Corp.

Investors are cautious ahead of the rollout of the goods and services tax on July 1, with its complex structure and myriad exceptions adding to the confusion for businesses.

Weak trading on other Asian bourses following overnight losses in the U.S. markets also dampened sentiment.