Mumbai, Oct. 12 -- The key equity benchmarks traded near the day's lows in afternoon trade. Investor sentiment remained cautious ahead of the release of India's inflation data later in the day. Although crude oil prices retreated, they remained above $100 a barrel, keeping inflationary concerns in focus. The Nifty slipped below the 22,400 mark, while realty stocks remained in demand.

At 13:28 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 574.22 points or 0.79% to 71,898.11 . The Nifty 50 index fell 147.50 points or 0.65% to 22,372.95.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.18 % and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 1.06 %.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 2,375 shares rose and 1,903 shares fell. A total of 312 shares were unc...