Mumbai, Oct. 24 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded with modest losses in the mid-morning trade after the government refrained from confirming reports of a potential US-India trade deal, weighing on market sentiment. The Nifty traded below the 25,850 mark. Private bank shares declined after advancing in the past trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 162.12 points or 0.19% to 84,394.28. The Nifty 50 index fell 54.45 points or 0.21% to 25,838.95.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.01% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.07%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,745 shares rose and 2,222 shares fell. A total of 187 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The HSBC...