Mumbai, Jan. 1 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with small gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above 26,100 level. IT shares advanced after declining for previous six consecutive trading session.

At 12:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 18.28 points or 0.02% to 85,238.88. The Nifty 50 index rose 17.90 points or 0.07% to 26,147.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.05% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index dropped 0.17%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,983 shares rose and 1,880 shares fell. A total of 214 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 1.82% to 9.30. The Nift...