Mumbai, Sept. 22 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with minor losses in early afternoon trade amid foreign fund outflows and geopolitical concerns weighed on sentiment despite easing crude oil prices and firm global cues. The Nifty traded below the 23,400 level.

PSU Bank shares witnessed selling pressure for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 197.25 points or 0.26% to 74,660.02. The Nifty 50 index fell 51.40 points or 0.22% to 23,363.90.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 0.21% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index shed 0.04%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,183 shares rose and 1,907 shares fell. A total of 262 shares were unchanged.

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