Mumbai, June 23 -- The headline equity indices erased all their early gains and traded with substantial losses in afternoon trade. The Nifty slipped below the 23,950 mark. Metal stocks witnessed profit booking after advancing for two consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 478.47 points or 0.62% to 76,615.60. The Nifty 50 index fell 155.35 points or 0.64% to 23,947.55.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index slipped 0.45% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index declined 0.40%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,464 shares rose and 2,570 shares fell. A total of 204 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's ...