The key equity barometers traded with pronounced losses in early trade. Nifty opened at 23858 and hit a high of 23883 in first half hour of trade. Nifty IT, Nifty Realty and Nifty Auto shares declined.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 651.29 points or 0.85% to 76,292.99. The Nifty 50 index decreased by 252.40 points or 1.05% to 23,803.40.

The broader market performed better than frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 1.18% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index shed 0.83%.

The market breadth was unfavorable. On the BSE, 1234 shares gained and 2612 shares retreated. A total of 210 shares were unchanged.

Nifty IT index shed 2.53%. The index has drifted lower by 0.69% in last one month and retreated 11.87% over last one year. Infosys, losing 2.08%, led the losers followed by Persistent Systems, edging lower 2.07% and TCS, easing 1.94%, respectively. All 10 index constituents are reporting losses today.

Nifty Realty index fell 2.28%. The index has eased by 2.38% in last one month and added 1.31% over last one year. DLF, slipping 2.73%, led the losers followed by Godrej Propert., down 2.72% and Brigade Enterpr., slipping 2.63%, respectively. All 10 index constituents are reporting losses today.

Nifty Auto index slipped 1.97%. The index has posted modest losses of 2.32% in last one month and advanced 11.03% over last one year. Sona BLW Precis., edging lower 3.79%, led the losers followed by Eicher Motors, losing 3.15% and Tube Investments, slipping 2.60%, respectively. All 15 index constituents are reporting losses today.

In NIFTY500, IFCI is the top gainer today, climbing 3.89% to Rs 90.70. The counter has jumped 66.15% in last one year. It recorded an average volume quantity of 3544920 in last five sessions compared to 2275043.27 over last one month.

Asian markets plunged on Wednesday. China’s Shanghai composite is lower by 0.82%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is trading lower by 1.17%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is significantly lower by 2.77%.