Mumbai, Feb. 14 -- The key equity indices traded with major losses in the early afternoon trade. The Nifty dropped below the 22,850 mark after hitting the day's high of 23,133.70 in early trade. Media shares declined after advancing in the past trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 482.15 points or 0.63% to 75,656.82. The Nifty 50 index slipped 186.25 points or 0.81% to 22,845.15.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 2.63%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap dropped 3.23%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 605 shares rose and 3,936 shares fell. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for January 202...