Mumbai, Apr 25 (IANS): The Nifty rose for the fifth consecutive session even as the volatility index inched up on Thursday, while the Sensex also made gains of over 480 points.

At close on Thursday, Nifty was up 167.95 points, or 0.75 per cent, at 22,570.35, while the Sensex was at 74,339.44, up 486.50 points, or 0.66 per cent.

Bulls kept their grip on Dalal Street on F&O expiry day, continuing the rise for the fifth consecutive session.

The India VIX rose by 4.42 per cent to 10.73 on expectations of volatility in the short term, said Neeraj Sharma, AVP Technical and Derivatives Research, Asit C. Mehta Investment Intermediates.

The volatility increased as traders rolled over holdings in the F&O segment from the April to May series.

The Nifty will likely continue its upward trend and may attempt to break its all-time high of 22,776. The Nifty smallcap index also registered a record high, while the midcap index is still 1 per cent away from its previous high, Sharma said.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said the market breadth was strong on Thursday, with oil prices correcting due to easing conflict in the Middle East and weakening US demand.

He said the domestic broader market was buoyed by the PMI data, with an improvement in discretionary spending. Further, the RBI's regulatory ecosystem on private banks led the PSU banks to outperform.

“The global market largely traded on a mixed note and is now focused on earning reports, with initial reports suggesting a disappointing outlook for technology stocks, which led to the US yields inching higher," Nair said.