Mumbai, Feb. 17 -- The key equity indices continued to trade with minor gains in the early afternoon trade. Sentiment remained optimistic despite weak economic data. Investors monitoring the crude oil prices, silver and gold prices and global cues. Nifty traded above 25,750 mark after hitting day's low of 25,570.30 in early trade. Media shares snapped a three-day losing streak.

At 12:25 PM ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 300.48 points or 0.36% to 83,584.87. The Nifty 50 index added 65.60 points or 0.25% to 25,746.20.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.24% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.79%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,417 shares rose and 1,505 shares fell. A total of 208...