The Sensex ended at 17551, down 10 points and the Nifty shut shop at 5278, up two points.
There was underperformance on the broader market front though; the midcap index ended at 6527, lower by 56 points and the smallcap index ended at 7808, down 65 points.
The markets had registered gains of more than 100 points at opening bell in line with the positive sentiment prevailing globally.
Wall Street had jumped for the fourth day on Tuesday on growing hopes that Greece would avoid a debt default; the Dow had risen 109 points and Nasdaq had climbed 57 points.
Earlier, in a vote after market closing, Prime Minister George Papandreou's cabinet had won a vote of confidence in what marks a first step towards a resolution of Greece's debt crisis.
And the Asian markets had a reassuring look about them. But the similarities ended there.
In a repeat of the market behaviour witnessed in the previous session, the domestic bourses were unable to sustain the gains for long.
While the Asian markets maintained their momentum till close, with the Nikkei jumping nearly 2% and peers such as the Seoul and Taiwan gaining in the region of half a percent each, the bourses back home seemingly decided to chart their own course.
The immediate trigger seemed to have been India Meteorological Department prediction that the southwest monsoons will be 95% of the long-period average, less than April forecast of 98% and just short of the 96-104%
Markets take a breather; end in the red
Markets: India to lag behind its peers
Markets continue winning streak; Sensex up 128 pts
Sensex sheds 546 points to close below 18K
Below normal monsoon forecast: Pranab allays fears