Mumbai, Nov. 19 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in the early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded a tad above the 26,000 level. Media shares extended losses for the second straight session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 340.88 points or 0.40% to 85,013.90. The Nifty 50 index gained 100.25 points or 0.39% to 26,009.90.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.40% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.22%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,748 shares rose and 2,226 shares fell. A total of 195 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 1.29% to 11.78. The Nift...