Mumbai, May 16 (IANS): Indian equity benchmarks surged on Thursday following expectations of rate cuts.

At closing, Sensex was up 676 points or 0.93 per cent, at 73,663 points and Nifty was up 203 points or 0.92 per cent, at 22,403 points.

Among sectors indices, IT, Auto, FMCG, Pharma, Metal, Reality, Media and Fin service were the top gainers

Nifty PSU Bank is the only index that closed in the red and was down by 0.88 per cent.

The India Volatility Index (India VIX) was down by 1.38 per cent, at 19.99 points.

M&M, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Titan were top gainers. Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Power Grid and SBI were the top losers.

Global markets remained bullish. Most of the Asian markets closed in the green. US markets closed higher in Wednesday's session due to lower-than-expected inflation.

According to market experts, "The domestic market experienced a late surge, driven by strong global trends that pointed to lower-than-expected US consumer inflation figures, which suggests at least two interest rate cuts in 2024."

"Further, buoyancy in the broader market continues with exports increasing despite global economic uncertainties, leading the heavyweights’ sectors such as banking, IT, and industrials to outperform," the market experts added.