Mumbai, Feb. 21 -- The key equity barometers traded with moderate cuts in early trade. The Nifty slipped below the 22,800 level. Auto shares declined after advancing in the past trading sessions.

At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 461.33 points or 0.61% to 75,274.63. The Nifty 50 index slipped 139.85 points or 0.63% to 22,768.05.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.92% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.46%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,635 shares rose and 1,839 shares fell. A total of 195 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index declined 2.34% to 21,558.65. The index rose 1.22% in the past trading session.

Mahindra & Mahindra (down 4.64%), Samv...