Mumbai, March 24 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with robust gains in early afternoon trade driven by foreign capital inflows and bargain buying, which boosted investor sentiment. The Nifty traded above the 23,600 level. PSU Bank shares extended gains for five consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, soared 1,026.76 points or 1.33% to 77,922.56. The Nifty 50 index rallied 295.60 points or 1.27% to 23,646.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 1.26% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.34%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,773 shares rose and 1,130 shares fell. A total of 203 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's pri...