At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 196.27 points or 0.25% to 78,307.51. The Nifty 50 index rose 65.35 points or 0.27% to 24,294.80.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index gained 0.38% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index added 0.84%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,755 shares rose and 1,288 shares fell. A total of 190 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 3.68% to 17.98.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for June 2026 settlement shed 16 cents or 0.17% to $94.77 a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 0.53% to 8,858.90. The index added 1.28% over the past two consecutive trading sessions.

Bank of India (up 2%), Punjab National Bank (up 1.48%), Punjab & Sind Bank (up 1.33%), UCO Bank (up 1.25%), Union Bank of India (up 0.99%), Central Bank of India (up 0.78%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 0.77%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.55%), Indian Overseas Bank (up 0.51%) and State Bank of India (up 0.3%) jumped.

Stocks in Spotlight:

HDB Financial Services surged 7.88% after the company's net profit rose 41.4% YoY and 16.6% QoQ to Rs 751 crore in Q4 FY26 from Rs 531 crore in Q4 FY25 and Rs 644 crore in Q3 FY26. Net income came in at Rs 2,769 crore, up 19.8% YoY and 4% QoQ. Profit before tax stood at Rs 991 crore in Q4 FY26, up 44.3% YoY and 17.6% QoQ.

Elitecon International rose 4.94% after the company announced that it has secured a long-term supply contract for cigarettes and other tobacco-related products, aggregating to Rs 2.02 billion.

RailTel Corporation of India rose 2.63% after it received a letter of intent (LoI) worth Rs 100 crore from the Divisional Commissioner, Konkan Division.

Global Markets:

Asian markets traded higher on Thursday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 hitting a record high level, as they tracked overnight gains on Wall Street as hopes of a U.S.-Iran deal grew.

The Iran war is 'very close to over,' President Donald Trump said in a media interview that aired on Wednesday, again reportedly claiming that Tehran wants to 'make a deal very badly.'

A White House official was quoted by the media on Tuesday, stating that a second round of negotiations between Washington and Iran is under discussion. According to media reports, nothing has been officially scheduled yet with respect to these talks.

Meanwhile, China's economy accelerated in the first quarter, supported by robust export growth, which helped offset tepid domestic demand, even as the growth outlook was clouded by the Iran war-fueled energy shock threatening global demand.

Gross domestic product grew 5% in the three months to March, data from the National Statistics Bureau showed Thursday, accelerating from 4.5% in the prior quarter.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose to new all-time highs on Wednesday, building on the week's strong gains as investors remained hopeful about the Iran war potentially ending soon.

The broad market index gained 0.80%, ending at 7,022.95. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.59% to 24,016.02, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 72.27 points, or 0.15%, to close at 48,463.72.

The U.S. economy grew at a 'slight to modest pace' over the past six weeks while consumers battled higher prices, resulting in more people reaching out for assistance, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

In the central bank's periodic 'Beige Book' accounting of activity, the 12 Fed districts reported the Iran war as 'a major source of uncertainty' for businesses. Price growth was reported as 'moderate' even with a sharp rise in energy and fuel costs. Consumers struggled to deal with the conditions, according to the report, which covered the prior six weeks.