Mumbai, July 28 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with significant cuts in mid-afternoon trade, despite positive cues from global markets, including the US-EU trade agreement. Market participants remained cautious, closely tracking the ongoing earnings season and FII activity. The Nifty slipped below the 24,700 level.

PSU bank shares declined for the second day in a row.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 585.27 points or 0.70% to 80,876.09. The Nifty 50 index declined 159.10 points or 0.64% to 24,674.90.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.76% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slumped 1.33%.

The overall market breadth was weak, with more stocks declining than advancing. On the BSE...