Equity benchmarks traded with a cautious positive bias in afternoon deals on Thursday as losses in IT stocks capped gains despite favourable cues from softer crude oil prices, strength in banks and defence counters, and optimism over the India-UK FTA.At 12.30 pm, the Sensex was up 111.44 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 77,267.06, after touching an intraday low of 76,953. The Nifty 50 gained 32.10 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 24,117.80 after slipping to 24,036.95 earlier in the session.Investor sentiment remained supported by lower oil prices after progress in the US-Iran peace process, which has lifted the markets in the last four sessions, even as concerns over a potential US rate hike later this year continued to weigh on export-oriented technology companies.IT remains under pressure; broader markets hold firmThe Nifty IT index remained the worst-performing sectoral index, declining 1.33 per cent at the time of writing. The sector continued to face selling pressure amid concerns that a higher-for-longer interest rate environment in the US could impact technology spending.Other sectors such as metal, oil & gas, consumer durables and auto also traded lower. On the positive side, realty, banking and media stocks posted modest gains.Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 0.07 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.35 per cent.Trent, BEL, HDFC Bank top gainersAmong the Nifty 50 constituents, Max Healthcare, Trent, Bharat Electronics, Eicher Motors and HDFC Bank were among the top gainers. Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Tata Consumer Products and Maruti Suzuki led the losers.In the midcap segment, Nykaa, Radico Khaitan, Tata Investment Corporation, BHEL and ICICI Asset Management Company surged 2-8 per cent. However, LTF, Swiggy, One97 Communications (Paytm), Info Edge and MCX declined 1-3 per cent.Among smallcap counters, Star Health, Five-Star Business Finance, CDSL and Redington gained 6-7 per cent, whereas IFCI and IDBI Bank declined 5-7 per cent.Defence counters continued their upward momentum after India reported its highest-ever defence production and exports in FY26. Reflecting the optimism, the Nifty India Defence index climbed to a fresh record high of 9,580.80 during the session.RBI move on FCNR deposits seen positive for banksBanking stocks received support after the Reserve Bank of India temporarily removed the interest rate ceiling on fresh FCNR(B) deposits with tenors of three to five years and NRE deposits with maturities of three years and above until September 30, 2026.