Mumbai, Jan. 12 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in the early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded tad above the 25,700 level. Metal shares advanced after declining over the past four trading sessions.

At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 121.89 points or 0.15% to 83,698.13. The Nifty 50 index added 19.25 points or 0.08% to 25,701.70.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.87% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.08%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,135 shares rose and 3,000 shares fell. A total of 203 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 7.29% to 11.72. The Nifty 2...