Mumbai, May 26 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in early afternoon trade, supported by U.S. President Donald Trump initially issuing and then softening threats of increased tariffs on European imports over the weekend, and by the Reserve Bank of India's decision to pay Rs 2.68 lakh crore as a dividend to the central government for FY25. Investors will closely monitor global trade developments and the upcoming Q4 results of the companies across various sectors. The Nifty traded above the 24,950 mark.

Oil & Gas shares extended gains for the second consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 436.91 points or 0.53% to 82,157.99. The Nifty 50 index advanced 134.10 point...