Mumbai, Feb. 23 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 25,650 mark. Auto shares advanced after declining for previous trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 292.53 points or 0.35% to 83,115.64. The Nifty 50 index surged 81.30 points or 0.32% to 25,652.55.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index slipped 0.43% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index added 0.32%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,904 shares rose and 2,168 shares fell. A total of 228 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.24% to 13.49. The Nifty 24 Febru...