Mumbai, April 27 -- The headline equity indices traded with significant gains in the early afternoon trade, with the Nifty 50 moving above the 24,050 mark. Sentiment was supported by reports of Iran proposing a peace initiative to the US aimed at de-escalating ongoing geopolitical tensions, which boosted global risk appetite, along with steady Q4 earnings updates. Consumer durables shares advanced after declining in the past two consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rallied 541.88 points or 0.71% to 77,206.09. The Nifty 50 index advanced 172.50 points or 0.72% to 24,070.45.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index jumped 1.34% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index surged 1.90%.

The market b...