Mumbai, Feb. 24 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded with deep cuts in the mid-afternoon trade dragged down by heavy selling in IT counters. Investor sentiment was dented after Trump has threatened foreign nations that if they side with the US Supreme Court's judgment, they may face higher tariffs on goods imported into the US, while the expiry of monthly F&O contracts on the NSE added to the volatility in the market.

Nifty traded below 25,450 mark. Auto shares declined after advancing in the past two consecutive trading sessions.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 1096.28 points or 1.32% to 82,197.91. The Nifty 50 index tanked 298.58 points or 1.15% to 25,414.65.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCa...