Mumbai, March 21 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with substantial gains in early-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 23,350 mark. Auto shares rallied for fifth consecutive trading session.

At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 644.02 points or 0.85% to 76,992.06. The Nifty 50 index rallied 184.30 points or 0.79% to 23,374.95.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.09% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index jumped 1.61%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,809 shares rose and 1,055 shares fell. A total of 150 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 1.32% to 21,909.15. The index jumped 6.59% in the five consecutive trading ...