Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 2 (ANI): Indian benchmark equity indices ended higher on Thursday, supported by easing crude oil prices, dovish remarks from the US Federal Reserve Chair and optimism surrounding the India-Japan Summit.

The Nifty 50 settled at 24,175.70, gaining 169.85 points or 0.71 per cent, while the BSE Sensex rose 579.48 points or 0.75 per cent to close at 77,502.12.

According to market experts, lower crude oil prices and expectations of a supportive global interest rate environment boosted investor sentiment during the session.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said, 'Indian markets ended higher as easing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz pushed crude prices lower, while dovish remarks from the Fed Chair reinforced expectations of moderating inflation and a supportive global rate environment. Sentiment was further aided by optimism surrounding the India-Japan Summit, with investors anticipating deals on trade, defence, semiconductors, AI cooperation, a proposed rupee-yen settlement framework and deepening bilateral capital flows.'

He added, 'Sectorally, the standout performer was the IT sector, which, supported by short covering, also rallied following the strengthening view that Indian IT firms will remain a key enabler of enterprise AI adoption. Going forward, market direction will be driven by the US non-farm payrolls data, the developments from the India-Japan summit, and the incoming Q1FY27 earnings results.'

Among the sectoral indices on the NSE, all sectors ended in the green except the Nifty PSU Bank index, which declined 0.43 per cent.

The Nifty IT index emerged as the top performer, surging 4.64 per cent. Nifty Realty gained 1.45 per cent, Nifty Auto rose 1.21 per cent, Nifty Metal advanced 0.88 per cent, Nifty FMCG added 0.56 per cent and Nifty Pharma climbed 0.50 per cent.

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services were the top gainers at the close of trade.

On the other hand, Max Healthcare, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Nestle India, Reliance Industries and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the major losers.

Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices continued their downward trend and were trading at USD 70.54 per barrel at the time of filing this report, supporting overall market sentiment.

In other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.95 per cent to 69,130, while South Korea's KOSPI index declined more than 8 per cent to 7,648. However, Singapore's Straits Times index gained 1.07 per cent to 5,217, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.35 per cent to 22,961, while Taiwan's weighted index slipped 0.59 per cent to 46,744. (ANI)