Mumbai, Feb. 4 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded with substantial gains in early afternoon trade, following gains in Asian markets. This came after the U.S. paused its planned tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which helped alleviate concerns about a potential global trade war. The Nifty traded above the 23,550 mark. Metal shares advanced after declining in past two consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 741.66 points or 0.97% to 77,928.40. The Nifty 50 index advanced 214.70 points or 0.92% to 23,575.75.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.78% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.57%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,317 shares rose and 1,428 sha...