Mumbai, Nov. 20 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in the early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded tad above the 26,150 mark. Media shares extended losses for a third consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 321.95 points or 0.38% to 85,508.42. The Nifty 50 index gained 103.10 points or 0.40% to 26,154.40.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.06% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.14%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,095 shares rose and 1,853 shares fell. A total of 219 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

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