Mumbai, Oct. 16 -- The headline equity benchmarks traded with significant gains in the early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 24,450 mark. Realty shares extended gains for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 536.07 points or 0.65% to 83,155.75. The Nifty 50 index rose 169.70 points or 0.67% to 25,493.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.35% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.45%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,367 shares rose and 1,603 shares fell. A total of 174 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.59% to 10.59. The Nifty...