Stock market today, Aug. 21 -- Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex gained momentum in mid-day trade on August 21, driven by strong performances in pharma, oil & gas, and banking stocks, while renewed buying in IT shares further boosted sentiment after a slow start.

Around 12:05 pm, the Sensex rose 245.44 points, or 0.30%, to 82,103.28, and the Nifty climbed 62.35 points, or 0.25%, to 25,112.90. Meanwhile, 2,172 stocks advanced, 1,347 declined, and 123 remained unchanged.

On Wednesday, the Nifty opened on a flat note and experienced early selling pressure, but buying at lower levels enabled it to regain the 25,000 mark, reaching an intraday high of 25,088.70 before settling at 25,050.

" Equity benchmarks continued their winning streak fo...