Stock Market update: Nifty hovers around 17,700, Sensex drops over 300 points; metal, IT drag

The Indian markets were trading lower by nearly 0.4% in Thursday's afternoon trade, weighed down by weaker global cues in view of hawkish US Fed minutes hinting at aggressive interest rate hikes.  

Benchmarks Nifty 50 and the S&P BSE Sensex dropped 0.38% and 0.43% respectively as the market awaits Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy outcome on Friday.  

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The broader Nifty, which slipped below 17,700 in the morning, was trading at 17,739 around 1.30 pm, while the Sensex around 59,300 with a cut of nearly 300 points.  

The Nifty Bank recovered from early blows to trade higher by more than 100 points above 37,700.  

Nifty mid cap index slid 0.7%, while small cap traded flat with positive bias around the same time.  

Among the sectors, bank, pharma, healthcare and realty stocks witnessed buying interest, while metal, auto and IT stocks were seen trading under pressure as stock from these sectors declined largely.  

Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Eicher Motors, Asian Paints, Dr Reddy's, Asian Paints, M&M, Tech Mahindra, State Bank gained in an otherwise negative market. Titan, HDFC Ltd, Adani Ports, Power Grid, Wipro, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel and RIL dragged the market.