Mumbai, Nov. 6 -- The key equity benchmarks continued to trade with significant gains in the early afternoon trade, supported by sustained buying interest from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), which boosted overall market sentiment. Positive sentiment ahead of the Diwali celebrations and the ongoing festive season further underpinned the rally. The Nifty traded near the 24,700 level.

Private bank stocks extended their gains for fourth consecutive trading session.

At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 657.47 points or 0.86% to 79,997.04. The Nifty 50 index rose 152.80 points or 0.61% to 24,693.55.

In the broader market, the Nifty MidCap 150 Index declined 1.26% and the Nifty SmallCap 250 Index fell 1.69%. ...