Mumbai, Nov. 9 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with modest cuts in early afternoon trade, as investors remained cautious despite easing crude oil prices and renewed foreign fund inflows. Market participants also assessed the ongoing Q2 FY27 corporate earnings announcements for cues on the earnings outlook. The Nifty slipped below the 24,950 mark. Media shares extended gains for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 268.13 points or 0.35% to 80,719.84. The Nifty 50 index shed 83.55 points or 0.33% to 24,905.10.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index declined 0.18% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 0.18%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,733 sha...