Mumbai, Feb. 9 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in the early afternoon trade as investor sentiment remained optimistic following the recently signed India-US trade deal agreement and positive global cues. Nifty traded above the 25,800 level, and Sensex crossed the 83,950 mark. Realty stocks extended gains for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 398.45 points or 0.48% to 83,978.85. The Nifty 50 index rose 144.65 points or 0.56% to 25,838.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.27% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.98%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,979 shares rose and 1,152 shares fe...