Mumbai, Oct. 26 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with minor cuts in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 22,600 level. FMCG shares extended losses for the seventh consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 10.29 points or 0.01% to 73,113.54. The Nifty 50 index lost 7.70 points or 0.02% to 22,596.45.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The Nifty MidCap 150 Index rose 0.43% and the Nifty SmallCap 250 Index jumped 0.27%.

The market breadth was negative. On the NSE, 2,079 shares rose and 2,150 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, shed 5.07...