Mumbai, March 7 -- The key equity indices traded with small gains in the afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,550 mark. Media, oil & gas, and metal shares advanced while realty, IT, and consumer durables shares declined.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 50.73 points, or 0.07%, to 74,389.71. The Nifty 50 index added 22.50 points, or 0.10%, to 22,567.20.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.19% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.91%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,495 shares rose and 1,360 shares fell. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.85% to 13.47.

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