Mumbai, Feb. 14 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with moderate gains in the morning trade, following remarks from former US President Donald Trump, who stated that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had offered to discuss tariff reductions. This alleviated concerns over reciprocal duties. The Nifty traded above the 23,000 level. FMCG shares advanced after declining in past nine consecutive trading sessions.

At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 113.61 points or 0.15% to 76,250.50. The Nifty 50 index added 9.35 points or 0.04% to 23,040.75.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.32%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap dropped 1.80%.

The market breadth was weak. On ...