Mumbai, Aug. 27 -- The equity benchmarks traded with modest losses in early afternoon trade as investor sentiment remained subdued in the absence of strong directional cues. Market participants remained cautious amid movements in gold, crude oil prices, developments in the US-Iran situation and other global cues. The Nifty traded below the 24,150 mark.

PSU bank stocks declined after advancing for two consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 258.39 points or 0.33% to 77,222.74. The Nifty 50 index fell 55.80 points or 0.24% to 24,149.30.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index shed 0.08% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 0.02%.

The market bread...