The frontline indices traded in a narrow range with steep cuts in mid-morning trade. The Nifty hovered below the 20,000 level. Bank shares extended losses for the second consecutive trading session.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 623.50 points or 0.92% to 66,973.34. The Nifty 50 index lost 179.65 points or 0.89% to 19,953.65.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.17% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.39%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,457 shares rose and 2,000 shares fell. A total of 184 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index slipped 1.19% to 45,434.65. The index declined 1.72% in two trading sessions.

HDFC Bank (down 3.82%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.1%), Federal Bank (down 0.99%), Bank of Baroda (down 0.76%), Punjab National Bank (down 0.59%), ICICI Bank (down 0.57%), IndusInd Bank (down 0.14%), State Bank of India (down 0.12%).

On the other hand, AU Small Finance Bank (up 2.33%), IDFC First Bank (up 1.29%) and Bandhan Bank (up 0.67%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Caplin Point Laboratories shed 0.36%. The drug maker informed that Caplin Steriles has been granted final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) Norepinephrine Bitartrate injection. The said drug is used for restoration of blood pressure in adult patients with acute hypotensive states.

Aurobindo Pharma fell 0.60%. The pharmaceutical company announced that it has received a Form 483 from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) following an inspection of Unit IV formulation manufacturing facility situated Menakuru Village in Andhra Pradesh, from 13 to 19 September 2023. The Form 483 issued to its wholly owned subsidiary, APL Healthcare lists one observation.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks were mostly trading lower as China left its one-year and five-year loan prime rates unchanged. China's one-year and five-year loan prime rates were held at 3.45% and 4.2% respectively.

On Friday, the Bank of Japan will conclude its monetary policy meeting and traders will be looking for clarity on when the BOJ will start to shift its ultra-easy monetary policy. Elsewhere, the People's Bank of China is also expected to release its loan prime rate decisions on Friday.

US stocks ended lower on Tuesday ahead of the Fed's decision. The US Federal Reserve began its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday and will announce its interest rate decision on Thursday. The central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady, but investors will be paying close attention to the summary of economic projections and the press conference of Fed chair Jerome Powell for clues about what might happen in the months ahead.