The key equity barometers traded with minor losses in morning trades. Nifty moved in a range of 23549-23467. Nifty IT, Nifty Realty and Nifty FMCG shares declined, while Nifty Metal shares advanced.

NIFTY slipped by 0.66% in last session and posted steep losses of 3.86% over last one-week.

At 12:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, decreased by 624.29 points or 0.83% to 74,953.29. The Nifty 50 index posted modest losses of 160.15 points or 0.68% to 23,474.95.

The broader market surpassed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index lost 0.42% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index inched down 0.44%.

The market breadth was fragile. On the BSE, 2003 shares rose and 2870 shares declined. A total of 229 shares were unchanged.

Nifty IT index posted steep losses of 3.10%. The index has shed 5.53% in last one month and declined 12.90% over last one year. Infosys, slipping 4.34%, led the losers followed by HCL Technologies, down 4.12% and Coforge, easing 4.09%, respectively. All 10 index constituents are reporting losses today.

Nifty Realty index fell 1.28%. The index has eased by 0.66% in last one month and inched up 1.77% over last one year. A B Real Estate, losing 2.51%, led the losers followed by Brigade Enterpr., edging lower 2.18% and Oberoi Realty, easing 1.79%, respectively. Out of 10 index constituents, 9 are reporting loss today.

Nifty Metal index rallied 1.29% to 13325. The index has drifted lower by 0.53% in last one month and recorded robust gains of 35.38% over last one year. Adani Enterp., edging up 4.54%, led the gainers followed by Natl. Aluminium, up 2.51% and Tata Steel, gaining 2.15%, respectively. Out of 15 index constituents, 12 are reporting gains today.

Asian markets posted modest losses on Wednesday. China’s Shanghai composite is up 0.36%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is marginally lower by 0.31%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is down 0.19%.

In Europe, German DAX drifted lower 0.26%, UK’s FTSE 100 edged lower 0.10% and French CAC ticked up 0.14%.

In Commodities, MCX Crude oil registered sharp gains of 2.52% to trade at Rs 8,740 per barrel.