Mumbai, Feb. 16 -- The domestic equity indices continued to trade with moderate gains in the early afternoon trade. Sentiment remained optimistic despite a rise in inflation. Nifty traded above 25,550 mark after hitting day's low of 25,372.70 in early trade.

Media shares dropped for three consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:25 PM ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 286.55 points or 0.35% to 82,934.29. The Nifty 50 index added 111 points or 0.44% to 25,582.30.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.24% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index slipped 0.29%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,620 shares rose and 2,490 shares fell. A total of 219 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a...