Lower crude, firmer rupee and easing volatility drive sharp rebound in Indian equities

Sensex gained 776 points (1.02%) to close at 76,835.8 while Nifty rose 228.50 points (0.9%) to 23,995.9, driven by lower Brent crude prices (down over 9% to around $89 per barrel), a firmer rupee (up 66 paise to 95.91/USD), and easing volatility with India VIX falling 9.7% to 12.66. The 10-year benchmark bond yield settled at 6.77%, and analysts noted easing crude gives RBI meaningful room to cut rates given CPI inflation at 4.38% in June. FIIs net sold shares worth Rs 1,688 crore while DIIs were net buyers at Rs 2,329 crore, with banking, auto, financial services, IT and realty leading sectoral gains.