Mumbai, April 10 -- The key equity barometers traded with major gains in early afternoon trade, tracking strength in global markets, even as concerns persisted over the fragile two-week US-Iran ceasefire. The Nifty traded a tad above the 24,000 level. Auto stocks advanced after declining in the previous trading session.

At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 767.97 points or 1% to 77,399.62. The Nifty 50 index climbed 231.50 points or 0.97% to 24,006.60.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index surged 1.28% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index soared 1.52%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 3,299 shares rose and 817 shares fell. A total of 177 shares were unchanged.

Deriv...