The key equity barometers traded with considerable losses in morning trades. Nifty moved in a range of 22599-22328. Nifty Metal, Nifty Realty and Nifty Healthcare Index shares declined, while Nifty IT shares advanced.

NIFTY had edged lower 0.76% in last session and recorded sharp losses of 4.95% over last one-week.

At 12:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 770.41 points or 1.06% to 71,868.29. The Nifty 50 index retreated 251.05 points or 1.11% to 22,352.

The broader market outpaced the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index tumbled 1.79% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index plunged 2.04%.

The market breadth was fragile. On the BSE, 1242 shares rose and 3626 shares declined. A total of 229 shares were unchanged.

Nifty Metal index tumbled 3.01%. The index has lost 6.43% in last one month and surged 21.17% over last one year. Adani Enterp., shedding 6.12%, led the losers followed by Jindal Steel, easing 4.20% and JSW Steel, edging lower 3.63%, respectively. All 15 index constituents are reporting losses today.

Nifty Realty index declined 1.98%. The index has shed 7.83% in last one month and posted modest losses of 7.75% over last one year. Phoenix Mills, losing 3.08%, led the losers followed by A B Real Estate, down 2.92% and Anant Raj, slipping 2.13%, respectively. All 10 index constituents are reporting losses today.

Nifty IT index rose 1.05% to 28050. The index has declined 7.46% in last one month and plunged 20.03% over last one year. Mphasis, gaining 3.05%, led the gainers followed by LTM, edging up 1.60% and Wipro, up 1.29%, respectively. All 10 constituents are advancing today.

Asian markets sank on Thursday. China’s Shanghai composite is trading lower by 0.87%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is significantly lower by 1.34%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is firmly lower by 1.42%.

In Europe, German DAX posted modest losses of 0.77%, UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.79% and French CAC lost 1.22%.

In Commodities, MCX Crude oil soared 2.65% to trade at Rs 8,558 per barrel.