Mumbai, Oct. 27 -- The key equity benchmarks traded sideways in the early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,750 mark. Realty shares extended gains for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 71.03 points or 0.08% to 73,550.85. The Nifty 50 index rose 6.55 points or 0.03% to 22,758.35.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index advanced 1.03% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 1.64%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,806 shares rose and 1,111 shares fell. A total of 227 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 2.79% to 16....