Mumbai, Feb. 13 -- The key equity barometers traded with significant gains in the early afternoon trade as inflation eased to a five-month low, according to data released by the government. The Nifty hovered above the 23,150 mark after hitting the day's low of 22,992.20 in early trade. Realty shares jumped after declining for the past three trading sessions. Trading was volatile due to the weekly Nifty 50 F&O series expiry today.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 464.23 points or 0.61% to 76,635.31. The Nifty 50 index added 151.85 points or 0.66% to 23,197.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 1.03%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 0.61%.

The market breadth was strong. On the B...