Mumbai, March 11 -- The key equity indices traded near the flat line with some negative points in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 22,500 level. Bank shares extended losses for the third consecutive trading session.

At 12:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 133.27 points, or 0.18%, to 73,981.90. The Nifty 50 index lost 10.15 points, or 0.05%, to 22,451.05.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.15% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.96%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,220 shares rose and 2,541 shares fell. A total of 145 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rallied 1.76% ...