Mumbai, Aug. 25 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with moderate gains in the morning trade, driven by strong performance in IT stocks. The upbeat sentiment was mirrored across Asian markets, which followed overnight gains on Wall Street after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled a potential interest rate cut next month.

The Nifty traded above the 24,900 level. IT shares advanced after declining in the past trading session.

At 10:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 169.20 points or 0.20% to 81,476.06. The Nifty 50 index gained 49.90 points or 0.19% to 24,920.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.45% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.33%.

The market breadth was positive. On ...