Historical trend suggests that Indian benchmark indices witnessed a muted trading ahead of the Union Budget, however, volatility surges as we inch closer to the D-Day. 

On Wednesday, the equity markets traded range-bound and dropped to the day's low level towards the end of the trading session. At the close, Sensex was down by 152.18 points or 0.29 per cent at 52,541.39 while Nifty plunged 39.90 points or 0.25 per cent at the 15,692.20 level. The advance-decline ratio was in favour of advances wherein about 1,730 shares have advanced, 1,484 shares declined, and 143 shares are unchanged.