D-Street soars on wings of peace and chances of an oil windfall

The Nifty rose 197.55 points (0.8%) to close at 24,021.65 and the Sensex gained 790.54 points (1.04%) to end at 76,991.22, driven by gains in banking, IT, and oil marketing stocks. Sentiment was boosted by easing geopolitical tensions that pulled Brent crude down 4% to $74.02 a barrel, expectations of discounted Iranian crude flowing to India, and RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra's indication that rate hikes are not under consideration. Foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth Rs 1,843 crore while domestic institutions bought Rs 3,637 crore, and the India VIX fell 4% to 13.4.