Mumbai, July 30 -- The key equity benchmark traded with modest gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 24,850 mark. Oil & gas shares extended gains for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 172.92 points or 0.21% to 81,510.87. The Nifty 50 index gained 47.75 points or 0.19% to 24,865.85.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.08% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.26%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,052 shares rose and 1,739 shares fell. A total of 200 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.93% to 11.30. The Nifty 31 July 2...