Mumbai, Sept. 29 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with modest cuts in early afternoon trade, as value buying at lower levels provided some support. However, investor sentiment remained cautious amid a surge in crude oil prices and rising global bond yields. The Nifty traded below the 22,650 mark. Realty shares declined for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:25 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 512.35 points or 0.70% to 72,259.37. The Nifty 50 index dropped 150.35 points or 0.64% to 22,631.35.

In the broader market, the NSE MidCap 150 Index shed 0.59% and the NSE SmallCap 250 Index fell 0.28%.

The market breadth was negative. On the NSE, 1,788 shares rose and 2,355 shares fell. A total of 231 shares were unchanged.

Derivat...