Mumbai, Aug. 6 -- The headline equity indices traded near the flatline with some negative points in the afternoon trade as the Reserve Bank of India kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.5% and maintained a neutral policy stance.

The Nifty traded below the 24,650 mark. PSU Bank, private bank and bank shares advanced while pharma, IT and media shares declined.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, shed 42.71 points or 0.05% to 80,672.44. The Nifty 50 index fell 28.65 points or 0.09% to 24,620.90.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.71% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.03%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,257 shares rose and 2,651 shares fell. A to...