Mumbai, June 24 -- Key equity benchmarks rebounded sharply on Wednesday, with the Sensex rising over 700 points and the Nifty reclaiming the 24,000 mark. The sentiment was supported by easing concerns over interest rate hikes after RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said discussions on rate increases were premature. Sentiment was further aided by a recovery in South Korean markets, optimism over a potential India-US trade deal, a decline in crude oil prices below $77 per barrel, and foreign institutional investor buying. Gains in heavyweight IT and private banking stocks, lifted the indices.

The S&P BSE Sensex soared 790.54 points or 1.04% to 76,991.22. The Nifty 50 index rose 197.55 points or 0.83% to 24,021.65.

ICICI Bank (up 2.59%), Infosy...