The key equity indices traded in narrow range with major losses in the mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 17,400 level. Bank stocks witnessed selling pressure for second consecutive sessions.

At 14:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 759.83 or 1.27% to 59,046.45. The Nifty 50 index lost 211.45 points or 1.20% to 17,378.15.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.95% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.72%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,219 shares rose and 2,219 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged.

Investors turned cautious ahead of the release of jobs report in the US later today. The report could further bolster expectations for the Federal Reserve to step up the size of rate hikes.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper advanced to 7.416 from 7.441 previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.03, compared with its close of 82.06 during the previous trading session

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2023 settlement rose 0.31% to Rs 55,471.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.08% to 105.22.

The United States 10-year bond yield slipped 2.33% to 3.832.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2023 settlement declined 47 cents or 0.58% to $81.12 a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index declined 1.97% to 40,442.00. The index has declined 2.73% in two trading sessions.

HDFC Bank (down 2.76%), Punjab National Bank (down 2.55%), State Bank of India (down 2.32%) and IDFC First Bank (down 2.27%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers were IndusInd Bank (down 2.21%), Axis Bank (down 1.95%), ICICI Bank (down 1.59%), Bandhan Bank (down 1.52%) and Federal Bank (down 1.38%).

Bank of Baroda (BoB) declined 2.89%. The bank said that its board has approved a proposal to divest up to 49% of the bank's shareholding in its wholly owned subsidiary BOB Financial Solutions (BFSL).

Stocks in Spotlight:

Marksans Pharma rose 0.75%. The company received final approval from US Food and Drug Administration for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) of Famotidine tablets, 10 mg and 20 mg, for over the counter (OTC) use.

Spandana Sphoorty Financial rose 0.80%. The company's board has considered and approved non convertible debentures (NCDs) worth Rs 125 crore on private placement basis.