The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading down by nearly 150 points, dragged by technology stocks, after Infosys' revenue outlook and plan to return cash to shareholders fell short of expectations, raising concerns at the start of the earnings reporting season.

Also, disappointing macroeconomic data and a weak trend in Asian markets hit the domestic sentiment.

Moreover, lower-than-expected January-March earnings posted by the country’s second-largest software services company Infosys also dampened the trading sentiment.

At 1.30 p.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 144.40 points or 0.49 per cent at 29,499.08 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 34.6 points or 0.38 per cent at 9,168.85.

Among BSE sectoral indices, metal index fell the most by 2.21 per cent, followed by IT 2.17 per cent, TECk 2.00 per cent and capital goods 0.72 per cent. On the other hand, oil & gas index was up 1.3 per cent, followed by heathcare 0.74 per cent, PSU 0.65 per cent and realty 0.48 per cent.

Top five Sensex losers were Infosys (-3.55%), Tata Steel (-3.00%), Tata Motors (-2.24%), TCS (-2.22%) and Adani Ports (-1.97%), while the major gainers were Sun Pharma (+1.49%), Power Grid (+1.04%), ICICI Bank (+0.85%), Reliance (+0.63%) and HDFC (+0.61%).

Infosys, the country's second-biggest software services exporter, said it expected revenue for the year 2017-18 to grow 6.5 percent to 8.5 percent in constant currency terms, below market expectations, while saying it would return up to $2 billion to shareholders.

The announcements sent Infosys stock down as much as 2.9 per cent to its lowest since February 9, offsetting early gains on its slightly higher-than-expected consolidated net profit, and cast a shadow over future earnings results.

The broader NSE index hit a record high last week and is up about 12 per cent this year, with a lot of those gains reflecting bets that corporate earnings would recover this year. However, concerns persist as geopolitical worries have grown after the United States launched cruise missiles against an air base in Syria last week and on fears of a new weapons test by North Korea.

“There is wariness about earnings because valuations are so stretched,” said Sunil Sharma, chief investment officer, Sanctum Wealth Management. “Markets have run up and people are looking at booking profits.”

Industrial production fell to a four-month low in February as manufacturing sector lagged behind, while retail inflation hit a five-month high in March though food prices cooled down.

Data released on Wednesday revealed that the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) declined by 1.2 per cent in February. It had risen by 1.9 per cent in February last year.

Retail inflation rose marginally to 3.81 per cent in March from 3.55 per cent in February 2017. It was 4.83 per cent in March last year.

A weak trend in other Asian markets in line with sell-off in the US on continued geopolitical tensions and comments by President Donald Trump expressing concern about a strong greenback also dented the sentiment here, brokers said.