Mumbai, Nov. 13 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with moderate gains in the early-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 25,950 mark. Pharma shares extended gains for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 314.65 points or 0.37% to 84,781.16. The Nifty 50 index rose 93.20 points or 0.36% to 25,967.45.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.26% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.30%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,133 shares rose and 1,874 shares fell. A total of 206 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 1.13% to 11.97. The Nifty...