Indian benchmark equity indices extended their gains on Thursday, with the Sensex rising nearly 580 points and the Nifty closing above the 24,100 mark, supported by easing crude oil prices, dovish comments from the US Federal Reserve and optimism surrounding the India-Japan Summit.
The Nifty 50 settled at 24,175.70, up 169.85 points or 0.71 per cent, while the BSE Sensex climbed 579.48 points, or 0.75 per cent, to close at 77,502.12.
Market experts said improving global cues and expectations of stronger economic cooperation between India and Japan lifted investor sentiment.
Sectorally, the rally was broad-based, with all major NSE indices ending in positive territory except the Nifty PSU Bank index, which slipped 0.43 per cent.
The Nifty IT index led the gains, soaring 4.64 per cent on the back of short covering and growing confidence that Indian technology companies will remain key enablers of enterprise artificial intelligence adoption. Realty, auto, metal, FMCG and pharma stocks also ended higher.
Among the top gainers in the Nifty 50 were Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services, while Max Healthcare, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Nestle India, Reliance Industries and Kotak Mahindra Bank finished among the major losers.
Meanwhile, Brent crude prices continued to ease, trading at USD 70.54 per barrel, providing further support to market sentiment by reducing concerns over inflation and import costs.
Across Asia, markets delivered a mixed performance. Singapore’s Straits Times and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices closed higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225, South Korea’s KOSPI and Taiwan’s weighted index ended in the red.
