Mumbai, May 16 -- India's benchmark Nifty 50 index surged past the key 25,000 mark on Thursday, notching its highest close in seven months, amid signs of easing geopolitical tensions. The rally coincided with the weekly derivatives expiry, pushing volume turnover on the National Stock Exchange to Rs.1.28 lakh crore-the highest since March 27's Rs.1.5 akh crore mark. Besides, short-covering got a lift after US President Donald Trump said India had offered a "zero-tariff" trade deal for American goods. However, after market hours, India dismissed Trump's claim, with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar clarifying that trade talks with the US were still ongoing and "complicated". On Thursday, FIIs net purchased Indian equities worth Rs.5,393 crore while domestic institutional investors net sold shares worth Rs.1,668 crore, provisional data showed. Adding to the market buzz, MSCI India's upcoming index rejig on May 30 likely prompted mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking the index to begin realigning their portfolios. According to Abhilash Pagaria, head of Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research, India could see passive inflows of nearly $200 million from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) due to these changes. "India continues to hold its position as the second-largest country weight in the MSCI EM (emerging market) index, maintaining a weight close to 19.5%. With the latest changes, the stock count will rise from 157 to 159," he said. On Thursday, Nifty 50 jumped 1.6% to settle at 25,062.10 points, the highest since it reached 25,127.95 on October 14, 2024. The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 1.5% to close the day at 82,530.74 points, the highest since 82,497.1 on October 3. Thursday belonged to the large-caps, which outshone their mid- and small-cap peers. The Nifty Midcap 100 edged up just 0.7% and the Nifty Smallcap 250 managed a modest 0.8% gain. Irrespective of geopolitical developments, investors need to focus on "fundamentals like economic growth, where India stands out among major economies, a falling interest rate regime, lower oil prices, and relatively robust earnings, to name only a few", said Sunil Singhania, founder of Abakkus Asset Manager. On Thursday, all sectors ended in the green with Nifty Auto and Nifty Realty leading the charge, gaining 2% each. In terms of stocks, index heavyweights Reliance Industries Ltd, Infosys Ltd, and ICICI Bank Ltd were the biggest contributors to the rise in Nifty 50 index. With inputs from Ram Sahgal....