Mumbai, Feb. 27 -- The key equity benchmarks traded near flat line with positive bias in early trade. The Nifty traded above 22,550 mark. Consumer durables, media and IT shares declined while banking and metal stocks advanced.

At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 56.45 points or 0.08% to 74,.658.57. The Nifty 50 index added 19.80 points or 0.09% to 22,567.35.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.02% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.58%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,348 shares rose and 1,487 shares fell. A total of 183 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,529.10 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net ...