Mumbai, Feb. 28 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded with major losses in early afternoon trade as investors awaited key GDP data and responded to fresh comments from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding tariffs. The Nifty tanked below the 22,250 mark. Media shares extended losses for the two consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tanked 975.07 points or 1.30% to 73,639.24. The Nifty 50 index declined 298.45 points or 1.32% to 22,246.60.

The broader market underperformed frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 2.46% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 2.82%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 533 shares rose and 3,236 shares fell. A total of 136 shares were unch...