Mumbai, Dec. 23 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with moderate gains in mid-afternoon trade, buoyed by encouraging eight core industries data. Traders will closely monitoring rupee movement, FII activity, ongoing IPO activity, and global cues. The Nifty traded above the 26,200 level.

IT shares declined after gaining over the past four consecutive trading sessions.

At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 103.12 points or 0.12% to 85,670.60. The Nifty 50 index added 48 points or 0.18% to 26,220.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.10% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.34%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 2,292 shares rose and 1,803 shares fell. A total of 211 shares were un...