Mumbai, June 30 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded with moderate losses in early trade. The Nifty traded below the 23,900 level. IT, auto and metal shares declined while chemical, healthcare and pharma shares advanced.

At 09:31 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 141.88 points or 0.18% to 76,586.49. The Nifty 50 index lost 53.20 points or 0.23% to 23,892.95.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index slipped 0.20% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.12%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,755 shares rose and 1,193 shares fell. A total of 163 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, advanced 2.13% to 13.90.

Foreign portfoli...