Mumbai, Oct. 3 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded sideways in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,850 mark. PSU bank shares advanced after declining in the past trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 30.55 points or 0.04% to 81,013.86. The Nifty 50 index lost 6.70 points or 0.03% to 24,829.15.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.47% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.83%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,479 shares rose and 1,637 shares fell. A total of 156 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 0.72% to 7,553.40. The index shed 0.37% in the past trading session.

Indian Bank ...