Mumbai, Dec. 4 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in the early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 26,000 level. Media shares declined after advancing in the past trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 118.53 points or 0.14% to 85,225.34. The Nifty 50 index rose 38.35 points or 0.15% to 26,024.20.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.05% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.08%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,471 shares rose and 2,426 shares fell. A total of 209 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.51...