India, April 16 -- India's stock market rose at the opening bell today, extending its rally to a second straight trading session, as hopes of an early end to the Iran war cooled crude oil prices. Still, the Strait of Hormuz remained a key risk.

The 30-share S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.73%, or 566.32 points, to 78,677.60 points even as the wider NSE Nifty 50 gained 0.64% to 24,385.20 points.

The equity benchmarks rose 1.6% each on Wednesday to hit a one-month high after the US said talks with Iran could resume soon in Pakistan.

"The message from the crude market and the US stock market (Nasdaq, S&P 500 at record high) is that the West Asian conflict is unlikely to last long. The stock market is discounting an early end to the conflict," V.K. ...