Mumbai, Jan. 27 -- The key equity barometers traded near flat line in mid-afternoon trade. The movement came after India and the European Union clinched a landmark free trade agreement (FTA) following 18 years of stalled negotiations. The Nifty traded below the 25,100 level.

Auto shares declined for three consecutive trading sessions.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 118.09 points or 0.14% to 81,419.61. The Nifty 50 index fell 3.90 points or 0.02% to 25,043.15.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 0.41% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.54%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,556 shares rose and 2,673 shares fell. A total of 188 shares we...