Mumbai, Jan. 20 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with major cuts in mid-afternoon trade amid the expiry of F&O contracts on the NSE. The Nifty slipped below the 25,400 level after hitting an intraday high of 25,585 in early trade. Investors are closely tracking the ongoing Q3 earnings season and developments from the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos. Media shares extended losses for the third consecutive trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 567.07 points or 0.68% to 82,679.11. The Nifty 50 index lost 206.55 points or 0.81% to 25,380.15.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 2.06% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 2.29%.

The market breadth was...