Mumbai, Sept. 2 -- The headline equity indices traded with moderate gains in the afternoon trade, supported by robust GST collection in August. Optimism prevailed ahead of the GST council meeting scheduled later this week. Investors are closely tracking developments on U.S. tariff measures, FII outcome and monthly auto sales data. The Nifty traded above 24,650 mark.

Media, oil & gas and FMCG shares advanced, while private bank, healthcare and financial services shares corrected.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 187.92 points or 0.24% to 80,552.41. The Nifty 50 index added 63.80 points or 0.29% to 24,688.85.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 0.34% and th...