The key equity barometers traded with minor gains in morning trades. Nifty moved in a range of 23456-23350. Nifty Metal, Nifty Realty and Nifty FMCG shares rose, while Nifty IT and Nifty Media shares retreated.

NIFTY eased by 0.36% in last session and slumped 3.67% over last one-week.

At 12:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, edged higher by 419.21 points or 0.56% to 74,948.29. The Nifty 50 index moved higher by 119.40 points or 0.51% to 23,448.40.

The broader market lagged behind the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index posted modest gains of 0.48% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index inched up 0.61%.

The market breadth was healthy. On the BSE, 3195 shares gained and 1698 shares fell. A total of 255 shares were unchanged.

Nifty Metal index rallied 2.28% to 13286. The index has edged lower 2.92% in last one month and surged 29.53% over last one year. S A I L, rising 5.75%, led the gainers followed by Jindal Steel, gaining 3.72% and Welspun Corp, adding 3.21%, respectively. Out of 15 index constituents, 14 are reporting gains today.

Nifty Realty index advanced 1.29% to 873. The index has fallen 6.06% in last one month and posted modest losses of 6.52% over last one year. Phoenix Mills, inching higher 3.32%, led the gainers followed by Anant Raj, edging up 2.79% and Prestige Estates, up 1.45%, respectively. All 10 constituents are advancing today.

Nifty IT index moved lower by 0.68%. The index has retreated 6.58% in last one month and plunged 19.49% over last one year. Persistent Systems, slipping 2.03%, led the losers followed by LTM, easing 1.06% and Coforge, losing 0.79%, respectively. All 10 index constituents are reporting losses today.

Asian markets posted modest losses on Wednesday. China’s Shanghai composite is slightly lower by 0.35%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is lower by 1.12%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is substantially higher by 1.38%.

In Europe, German DAX moved up 0.10%, UK’s FTSE 100 edged lower 0.29% and French CAC ticked up 0.20%.