India, March 18 -- The key equity benchmarks continued to trade with substantial gains in early afternoon trade, mirroring positive trends in Asian markets. However, sentiment remained cautious amid concerns over the ongoing US-Iran conflict in the Middle East which continues to weigh on overall risk appetite. The Nifty traded near the 23,800 level. Media shares jumped for second consecutive trading session.

At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 689.77 points or 0.92% to 76,774.50. The Nifty 50 index climbed 215 points or 0.91% to 23,797.50.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index jumped 1.49% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rallied 1.82%.

The market breadth was strong. On t...