Mumbai, Dec. 18 -- The key equity indices continued to trade with limited losses in the afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 24,250 mark after hitting the day's high of 24,394.45 in the morning trade. Pharma, healthcare and IT shares advanced while media, metal and banking shares corrected.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 452.23 points or 0.56% to 80,232.22. The Nifty 50 index lost 124.20 points or 0.51% to 24,211.80.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.60% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.67%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,428 shares rose and 2,495 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.

Gainers & Losers:

Trent (up 1.90%), Dr. Reddy's L...