Mumbai, Feb. 16 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in early-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,000 level. PSU bank shares extended gains for the fourth consecutive trading session.

At 12:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 326.65 points or 0.45% to 72,377.03. The Nifty 50 index added 115.90 points or 0.53% to 22,026.65.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.63% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.67%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,232 shares rose and 1,511 shares fell. A total of 106 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.65% to 15.33. The Nifty ...