Sensex climbs 500 points, Nifty tops 24,200 as investors brace for earnings session

Sensex gained over 500 points while Nifty 50 rose nearly 134 points to settle around 24,207, led by IT stocks such as Tech Mahindra, Infosys, TCS and HCL Tech which jumped 2-3 percent, while broader markets slipped into the red with 1,607 declines against 856 advances on NSE. Foreign investors remained net sellers on Thursday, offloading shares worth about Rs 4,206 crore, and the rupee emerged as the worst performing Asian currency with depreciation above 1 percent this week. Geopolitical tensions from escalating Iran-US strikes kept oil prices elevated, with Brent crude near $85 and WTI around $80 per barrel, while investors await Reliance Industries Q1 earnings today and private banking major results over the weekend.