Mumbai, Aug. 26 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded with significant cuts in the early afternoon trade, weighed down by concerns over potential U.S. trade actions. Sentiment turned cautious after the United States issued a draft notice proposing tariffs of up to 50% on Indian goods, set to take effect from Wednesday.

The Nifty traded below the 24,850 mark. PSU Bank shares witnessed selling pressure for the fifth consecutive trading session.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 554.45 points or 0.68% to 81,081.46. The Nifty 50 index dropped 165.65 points or 0.66% to 24,802.80.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.81% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.08%.

The market breadth was...