Mumbai, May 6 -- The frontline indices traded with minor cuts in early afternoon trade. Nifty traded a tad below the 24,400 level. Media shares declined after advancing in the past two consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 209.57 points or 0.26% to 80,587.27. The Nifty 50 index lost 68.60 points or 0.27% to 24,394.75.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.18% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.04%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 960 shares rose and 2,772 shares fell. A total of 154 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, she...