Mumbai, Jan. 21 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with moderate losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 25,150 mark. The sharp rise in India VIX indicates growing volatility expectations as investors stay on the sidelines ahead of key Q3 earnings outcomes and cues from the World Economic Forum.

PSU bank shares witnessed selling pressure for third consecutive trading session.

At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 276.82 points or 0.36% to 81,854.74. The Nifty 50 index fell 97.85 points or 0.39% to 25,134.65.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.95% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.75%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, ...