Sensex jumps over 500 points, Nifty above 24,200 led by financials; Mideast tensions cap gains

Sensex surged about 540 points to 77,592 and Nifty 50 climbed 150 points to 24,202, led by financial stocks including Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, and Reliance Industries which gained around 1% each, while IT majors TCS, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and Infosys declined up to 2%. The rally was supported by softer US CPI data — its first monthly drop since the pandemic at 0.4% — and broad-based gains across midcap and smallcap indices, though upside was capped by Middle East tensions and Brent crude holding near $86. India VIX dropped over 3% to 13.31, reflecting reduced volatility even as experts flagged monsoon deficiency of 18% and June CPI inflation at 4.38% as domestic headwinds.