Mumbai, Feb. 2 -- The headline equity benchmarks pared gains in early-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above 22,000 level. IT shares advanced after declining in the past trading session.

At 12:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, soared 1,014.34 points or 1.42% to 72,659.64. The Nifty 50 index jumped 324.90 points or 1.50% to 22,022.35.

The benchmark, Nifty50 index hit an all-time high at 22,126.80 in early afternoon trade.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.19% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.87%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,269 shares rose and 1,476 shares fell. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of v...