Sensex, Nifty Extend Gains, Nifty Crosses 24,000

Expectations of easing Iran-related tensions and some sectoral recovery buoyed the sentiment as major equity indexes on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) added to their gains during Wednesday's session, and the Nifty 50 has for the first time in the new monthly series gone beyond the 24,000 level.

At 1:28 pm IST, the BSE Sensex was up 524.27 points, or 0.69 per cent, at 77,002.94, while the Nifty 50 had gained 156.35 points, or 0.66 per cent, to trade at 24,022.10, according to Business Standard's market tracker. The stocks of Realty, media and FMCG stocks advanced the most, whereas those of IT, metal and pharma stocks lagged.

The market breadth was positive throughout the day with 2297 shares moving up and 1789 stocks falling on the BSE. India VIX, a measure of volatility, declined 1.58 per cent to 13.39, indicating a drop in near-term risk aversion.

The up move was driven by Wall Street's big overnight gain and indications that de-escalation had begun after Iran indicated interest in holding talks through Qatar. Sentiment was propping up with optimism on the near completion of the India-US interim trade pact, positive global cues, and "softer crude oil prices," said Motilal Oswal's Siddhartha Khemka.

Eternal, Asian Paints, Nestlé India and Adani Ports were among the top gainers for the session, whereas Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies were among the laggards.

Figures are as of the afternoon session – any amounts changes are not independently verified at time of publication – all investor-wealth gains are subject to confirmation.