Mumbai, Jan. 29 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded with significant gains in early afternoon trade as investors waited for the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later today and the Union Budget this weekend. The Nifty traded above the 23,100 level. IT shares gained after declining in the past two consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rallied 535.35 points or 0.71% to 76,436.25. The Nifty 50 index advanced 178.75 points or 0.78% to 23,136.85.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 2% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 2.51%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,867 shares rose and 902 shares fell. A total of 147 sh...