Mumbai, Feb. 1 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with small cuts in the mid-afternoon trade after the Budget for 2025-26 was laid down in Parliament by the finance minister. The Nifty traded below the 23,500 level. FMCG shares advanced for the third consecutive trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 7.06 points or 0.01% to 77,493.51. The Nifty 50 index lost 20.70 points or 0.09% to 23,487.70.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.33% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.25%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 2,120 shares rose and 1,718 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility...