Mumbai, April 3 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with modest losses in the early-afternoon trade after the US president announced a tariff rate of 26% on imports into the US from India. The Nifty traded below the 23,300 level. Auto shares declined after advancing in the past trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 306.04 points or 0.40% to 76,305.49. The Nifty 50 index fell 72.65 points or 0.31% to 23,259.70.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.13% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.39%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,560 shares rose and 1,191 shares fell. A total of 182 shares were unchanged.

Trump's Tariff Shock:

US President Donald Trump has an...