Mumbai, March 6 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in early-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,400 level. Oil & gas shares extended gains for the third consecutive trading session. Trading was volatile due to the weekly Nifty50 F&O series expiry today.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 231.24 points, or 0.31%, to 73,961.47. The Nifty 50 index added 94.95 points, or 0.43%, to 22,432.25.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.66%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.53%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,909 shares rose and 921 shares fell. A total of 140 shares were unchanged.

Politics:

The BJP secured two out ...