Mumbai, March 20 -- The key equity benchmarks extended gains in the afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 23,150 mark. All sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the green, with IT, auto, and metal stocks gaining the most.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 810.30 points, or 1.08%, to 76,273.41. The Nifty 50 index jumped 255.30 points, or 1.11%, to 23,162.90.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.61%, and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.64%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,480 shares rose and 1,431 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 3.23% to 12.87.

Econo...