Mumbai, Nov. 4 -- The key equity benchmarks traded higher in afternoon deals on Wednesday, supported by a recovery in global markets. European shares advanced, while Asian equities pared most of their early losses following the US midterm election results. The Nifty reclaimed the 23,900 mark. Chemicals stocks were in demand.

At 13:30 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 309.38 points or 0.40% to 77,227.23. The Nifty 50 index rose 98.05 points or 0.41% to 23,908.90.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index gained 1.13% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index added 1.48%.

The market breadth was strong. On the NSE, 2606 shares rose and 898 shares fell. A total of 91 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gaug...