Mumbai, March 15 -- The frontline indices traded in a narrow range with steep losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 22,100 level. Auto shares declined after rising in the past trading session.

At 12:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 561.32 points or 0.75% to 72,547.94. The Nifty 50 index declined 201.80 points or 0.91% to 21,944.85.

The broader market underperformed the key indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index lost 1.75% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.19%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,220 shares rose and 2,506 shares fell. A total of 113 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped ...