Mumbai, April 8 -- The frontline indices traded with major gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,550 level. IT shares advanced after declining in the past three trading sessions.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 1,366.33 points or 1.87% to 74,504.23. The Nifty 50 index added 402.30 points or 1.84% to 22,580.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 1.77% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index surged 2%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,974 shares rose and 778 shares fell. A total of 163 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 9.66% to 20...