Mumbai, Sept. 29 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 24,700 level. Metal shares advanced after declining in the previous trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 206.17 points or 0.26% to 80,632.63. The Nifty 50 index rose 71.75 points or 0.29% to 24,726.45.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.62% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.22%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 2,029 shares rose and 2,110 shares fell. A total of 175 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 1.09% to 9,996.05. The index shed 1.93% in the past trading session.

Hindustan Zinc (up 3.61%), Hi...