Sensex rises over 400 points, Nifty tops 24,100 as oil slips below $70 on US-Iran peace talks

Published 2 July 2026 · finance

The Indian stock market extended gains for the second consecutive session on Thursday, with Sensex and Nifty rising around 0.2% as oil prices tumbled amid

The Indian stock market extended gains for the second consecutive session on Thursday, with Sensex and Nifty rising around 0.2% as oil prices tumbled amid peace talks between Iran and US.Sensex rose over 500 points while Nifty 50 gained above 24,150 during Thursday's trading session. This came as India VIX, which measures volatility in market, declined to 13.19.Infosys shares gained nearly 3% to lead gains on Sensex, while HCL Tech, TCS and Tech Mahindra shares rose up to 2%. Bucking the trend, Bajaj Finance shares dropped over 1% to lead losses on the benchmark index.Broader markets also traded in the green, with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices gaining around 0.3% each. Sectorally, Nifty IT surged nearly 3% to lead gains. Nifty Realty and Nifty Metal meanwhile gained nearly 1% each. Around 1,818 stocks advanced on NSE, while 586 declined and 99 remained unchanged.Oil drops to $70/barrelOil prices sharply dropped on Thursday, with Brent crude futures falling to $70 per barrel as peace talks between Iran and the US gained momentum.

Negotiators from the two countries have been discussing maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and unfreezing Iran's funds over the past two days in Doha.Also Read | Crude oil at $70, falls for 2nd session as US-Iran talks progress. Worst over?US President Donald Trump meanwhile said that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had reached record levels and predicted further declines in oil prices. "Those boats are coming out of the Hormuz Strait. They're coming out by numbers that nobody ever saw. We're setting records actually," Trump said. "I don't give a damn if they're happy or sad, I want the prices to go down. And the oil is dropping like nobody thought possible. But I told you it would. Total control, we have total control of everything,” he added.Rupee meanwhile opened 0.34% higher at 94.9275 against the US dollar, as compared to the previous close of 95.2475. What lies ahead?There are some positive trends that are providing near-term support and strength to the market, according to VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments.

“One, crude continues to fall with Brent below $71 now. This will further strengthen India’s macros and help in achieving higher growth while keeping inflation in check. Two, the auto sales numbers in June was strong with 24.1% growth in passenger vehicles. This Indicates that the demand momentum in the economy continues to be strong. Third, the AI trade in South Korea is weakening as indicated by the 11.5% correction in Kospi last month. This is positive for non-AI markets like India. Fourth, the FII selling is tapering off giving an upper hand to the DIIs,” he said.As a result of these positive trends, Nifty is outperforming other markets now, Vijayakumar highlighted. “For June, Nifty is up 2.5% while Kospi and Nasdaq are down 11.5% and 3% respectively. Whether India’s outperformance will continue or not will be determined to a large extent by the progress of the monsoon, which continues to be unsatisfactory. The strength in the banking segment and digital platform companies is likely to continue in anticipation of good Q1 results,” he said.Technical view on NiftyThe Nifty remained range-bound in the last session as the index failed to break out of its recent trading band, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.