Mumbai, July 9 -- The key equity indices witnessed small cuts in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 25,500 level. Auto shares advanced after declining in the past trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 153.99 points or 0.18% to 83,558.52. The Nifty 50 index lost 42.75 points or 0.17% to 25,477.55.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.13% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.30%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,999 shares rose and 1,950 shares fell. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 3.15% to 11.81.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 0.46% to 23...