Mumbai, May 8 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with small losses in mid-afternoon trade, as Fed Chair Jerome Powell cautioned that persistent tariff hikes could slow growth and drive long-term inflation. Investor sentiment was also weighed down by rising Indo-Pak tensions. The Nifty slipped below the 24,350 mark. Market volatility was heightened due to the weekly expiry of the Nifty F&O series today.

Auto shares witnessed profit booking after advancing in the past three consecutive trading sessions.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 81.28 points or 0.10% to 80,661.39. The Nifty 50 index lost 64.90 points or 0.27% to 24,349.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.94% and the S&P ...