The key equity barometers traded with modest losses in early trade. Nifty opened at 24342 and hit a high of 24379 in first half hour of trade. Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Chemicals shares gained, while Nifty IT and Nifty FMCG shares fell.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, posted modest gains of 49.44 points to 77,705.53. The Nifty 50 index down 64.15 points to 24,270.40.

The broader market failed to keep pace with frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index moved higher by 0.30% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index inched up 0.70%.

The market breadth was encouraging. On the BSE, 2838 shares advanced and 1939 shares retreated. A total of 242 shares were unchanged.

Nifty PSU Bank index rallied 1.03% to 8692. The index has inched higher by 2.86% in last one month and recorded robust gains of 23.26% over last one year. Bank of Maha, edging up 4.90%, led the gainers followed by Indian Bank, up 1.54% and Bank of India, gaining 1.46%, respectively. All 12 constituents are advancing today.

Nifty Private Bank index gained 1% to 27723. The index has posted modest gains of 0.20% in last one month and posted modest gains of 2.81% over last one year. Kotak Mah. Bank, adding 3.21%, led the gainers followed by Axis Bank, inching higher 1.21% and ICICI Bank, adding 1.12%, respectively. Out of 10 index constituents, 7 are reporting gains today.

Nifty IT index fell 1.21%. The index has edged up 4.52% in last one month and slumped 15.18% over last one year. Infosys, losing 1.81%, led the losers followed by Tech Mahindra, edging lower 1.51% and HCL Technologies, down 0.93%, respectively. Out of 10 index constituents, 9 are reporting loss today.

In NIFTY500, Cyient is the top gainer today, registering sharp gains of 6.73% to Rs 1045.50. The counter has recorded sharp losses of 21.30% in last one year. It recorded an average volume quantity of 549247.67 in last five sessions compared to 212604.23 over last one month.

Asian markets recorded robust advances on Wednesday. China’s Shanghai composite is higher by 0.69%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is ahead by 0.82%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is trading higher by 0.62%.