Mumbai, July 29 -- The key equity benchmark traded with small gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 24,650 mark. Private bank shares declined for the fourth consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 7.34 points or 0.02% to 80,903.18. The Nifty 50 index rose 15.35 points or 0.06% to 24,699.95.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.30% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.10%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,825 shares rose and 1,960 shares fell. A total of 179 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.22% to 1...