Mumbai, Feb. 2 -- The key equity benchmarks continued to trade with modest cuts in early-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 24,850 mark. Oil & gas, realty and FMCG shares advanced, while media, healthcare, and IT shares declined.

At 1:35 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 296.76 points or 0.37% to 81,019.70. The Nifty 50 index rose 65.70 points or 0.26% to 24,891.15.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE 150 Mid-Cap index fell 0.62% and the S&P BSE 250 Small-Cap index shed 1.15%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,279 shares rose and 2,825 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's manufacturing activity recovered in January after losing mom...