Mumbai, Aug. 26 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded sideways with sharp losses in the afternoon trade, weighed down by concerns over potential U.S. trade actions. Sentiment turned cautious after the United States issued a draft notice proposing tariffs of up to 50% on Indian goods, set to take effect from Wednesday. The Nifty traded below the 24,850 mark.

Realty, pharma and PSU Bank shares tumbled while FMCG and auto shares advanced.

At 13:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 534.87 points or 0.66% to 81,101.04. The Nifty 50 index dropped 151.50 points or 0.60% to 24,817.80.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.86% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.1...