Mumbai, April 20 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with minor gains in early trade even as investors remained cautious amid the ongoing de-escalation of tensions in West Asia. Nifty traded above the 24,400 level. Market participants are monitoring quarterly earnings from index heavyweight banking stocks, along with other announced corporate results.

PSU Bank, private bank and pharma shares advanced while realty, metal and IT shares declined.

At 09:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex surged 163.22 points or 0.21% to 78,660.78. The Nifty 50 index rose 60.85 points or 0.25% to 24,414.40.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index jumped 0.45% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index added 0.24%.

The market breadth was almost eve...