Mumbai, Sept. 16 -- The key equity barometers traded with modest gains in the early afternoon trade, tracking positive cues from Asian markets as the recent rally in crude oil prices paused. Investors remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting later today. The Nifty surged above the 23,250 mark, indicating some recovery in market sentiment. Media shares rebounded after tumbling in the past trading session.

At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 383.44 points or 0.52% to 74,387.26. The Nifty 50 index added 144.35 points or 0.63% to 23,259.45.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 0.04% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index shed 0.21%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,698 sh...