Mumbai, May 6 -- The key equity barometers traded sideways in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded a tad above the 24,050 mark. Realty shares advanced after declining in the previous trading session.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 38.11 points or 0.05% to 76,977.96. The Nifty 50 index jumped 16.90 points or 0.07% to 24,051.70.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.97% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.84%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,425 shares rose and 1,557 shares fell. A total of 204 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 1.18% to 17.70.

Econom...