Mumbai, July 8 -- The key equity indices witnessed small gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 25,450 mark. Auto shares witnessed selling pressure for the third consecutive trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 56.11 points or 0.07% to 83,498.61. The Nifty 50 index rose 2.85 points or 0.01% to 25,463.65.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.19% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.32%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,706 shares rose and 2,241 shares fell. A total of 158 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 3.92% to 12.07.

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