Mumbai, Feb. 25 -- The key equity benchmarks traded near flat line with positive bias in early trade. The Nifty traded above 22,550 mark. Media, auto and bank shares advanced while realty, metal and pharma shares declined.

At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 77.43 points or 0.10% to 74,529.65. The Nifty 50 index added 11.40 points or 0.05% to 22,564.75.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.45% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.29%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,334 shares rose and 1,349 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 6,286.70 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net b...