Mumbai, April 17 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded with significant gains in the afternoon trade supported by easing geopolitical tensions. Investor sentiment strengthened following a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, boosting hopes of fresh negotiations involving the United States and Iran.

The Nifty traded above the 24,250 mark. Metal and IT shares declined while all the sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the green.

At 13:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 265.24 points or 0.34% to 78,254.14. The Nifty 50 index rose 95.40 points or 0.39% to 24,292.15.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index rose 0.93% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index jumped 1.36%.

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