Mumbai, April 20 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with minor gains in early afternoon trade even as investors remained cautious over renewed escalation in the West Asia conflict. The Nifty traded above the 24,350 mark. Chemical, realty and IT shares declined, while PSU Bank, oil & gas and auto shares advanced.

At 13:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 81.37 points or 0.10% to 78,571.17. The Nifty 50 index rose 29 points or 0.13% to 24,384.30.

In the broader market the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index shed 0.01% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 0.12%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,894 shares rose and 2,377 shares fell. A total of 207 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a ga...