MUMBAI — Indian equities rebounded sharply on Monday, with benchmark indices posting strong gains despite ongoing geopolitical tensions. Optimism over select banking stocks and expectations of a potential India-US trade deal fueled the rally.
The Sensex opened at 79,344, up 120 points, and climbed steadily throughout the day, hitting a fresh yearly high of 80,322 before closing at 80,218, up 1,006 points or 1.27%. The Nifty also gained, closing at 24,329, up 289 points or 1.2%, after fluctuating between 24,054 and 24,355.
Rupak De of LKP Securities noted that Nifty faces resistance at 24,360. A breakout could propel the index toward 24,550, aligning with the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level of its previous fall.
Banking stocks led the charge, with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, and SBI contributing 340 points to the Sensex—accounting for nearly 75% of the day’s gains. Other notable gainers included Sun Pharma, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, and Larsen & Toubro, each rising between 2-3%.
On the downside, HCL Technologies slipped nearly 2%, while UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, and Eternal also closed lower.
Broader market indices followed suit, with the BSE MidCap index rising 1.4% and the SmallCap index gaining 0.4%. Sector-wise, oil and gas stocks led the gains with a 3% rise, while banking, capital goods, auto, metals, and healthcare sectors all climbed over 1.5%.
The rupee strengthened to 84.98 against the dollar, up 0.25, buoyed by the rally in equities. (Source: IANS)
