Mumbai, Sept. 25 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with moderate cuts in the early afternoon trade, as market sentiment remained cautious due to continued FII (Foreign Institutional Investor) selling and the monthly Sensex expiry. The Nifty traded below the 25,000 level. IT shares extended losses for a fifth consecutive session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slipped 217.98 points or 0.27% to 81,497.65. The Nifty 50 index lost 76.50 points or 0.31% to 24,980.40.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.15% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.36%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,624 shares rose and 2,330 shares fell. A total of 170 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The ...