Mumbai, March 6 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with small cuts with some negative bias in mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded below the 22,350 mark. Metal shares extended gains for the four consecutive trading sessions. Trading was volatile due to the weekly Nifty50 F&O series expiry today.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, shed 19.05 points, or 0.03%, to 73,711.18. The Nifty 50 index fell 2.40 points, or 0.01%, to 22,334.90.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.48%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.31%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,866 shares rose and 886 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.

Politics:

The BJP secured two...