Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 16 (ANI): Indian equity markets extended gains for a third consecutive session with Sensex zooming over 500 points and Nifty inching towards the 24,000 mark. Nifty Realty, IT and Media emerged as the strongest gainers during Tuesday's session.

However, metals, healthcare, cement and pharma remained weak, limiting broader momentum with leadership shifting towards technology and domestic-facing sectors. On the other hand, broader markets remained mixed with smallcaps gaining and midcaps slipping.

Metals were the biggest drag, slipping over 2 per cent amid profit booking and a sharp decline in aluminium prices. Nifty closed at 23,989.15, up 135.25 points or 0.57 per cent, Sensex settled in the green at 76,808.48, up 544.15 points or 0.71 per cent.

HCL Tech, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Reliance, Tech Mahindra, ITC, among others, were the top BSE gainers. Meanwhile, Maruti, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Power Grid, Trent, among others, were the biggest losers.

Gold was trading at around USD 4,345.03 at the time of writing; on the other hand, the Rupee was trading at around 94.56 against the USD. Abhishek Kumar, SEBI RIA, founder, SahajMoney, said, 'Indian equities markets continued their gains in Tuesday's session, with the Sensex up 544 points at 76,808 and the Nifty 50 up about 133 points at 23,987, extending Monday's rally based on the US-Iran deal in a more measured manner.'

Noting, 'Realty, FMCG and IT extended their gains while metals slipped due to profit booking,' Kumar noted, 'Sentiment stays positive but cautious as traders awaited finer details of the ceasefire ahead of the June 19 signing.'

Market analyst Vipin Dixena noted, 'Indian markets are showing resilient momentum today. Nifty stabilising near 24,000 reflects healthy consolidation. The broader market strength is particularly noteworthy: Midcap and Smallcap indices gaining over 1% each indicate genuine retail and institutional participation, not just index-heavy momentum. Geopolitical stability from the US-Iran peace agreement and the Strait of Hormuz reopening are genuine positives that I think will sustain risk appetite in the near term.'

Maintaining a bullish outlook, Dixena noted, 'as long as the critical 23,800 support level holds, a decisive breakout above 24,000 could aggressively target 24,500.' (ANI)