Mumbai, Feb. 6 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with limited losses in the morning trade, as optimism surrounding an impending rate cut outweighed concerns over escalating global trade tensions. The Nifty traded below the 23,650 mark. Realty shares extended losses for the two consecutive trading sessions. Trading was volatile due to the weekly Nifty 50 F&O series expiry today.

At 10:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 178.37 points or 0.23% to 78,089.88. The Nifty 50 index fell 62.05 points or 0.26% to 23,634.25.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.15% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.27%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,055 shares rose and 1,379 shares fell. A total o...