Mumbai— Indian equity markets kicked off the week with solid gains on Monday, buoyed by a sharp rally in Adani Group stocks and strength in select auto and banking shares.
The Sensex opened 160 points higher at 80,662 and touched an intra-day high of 81,049 before closing 295 points up at 80,797. The Nifty also posted gains, rising 114 points, or 0.5%, to end the day at 24,461 after hitting a high of 24,526.
“Markets began the week on a strong note, supported by steady foreign institutional inflows and optimism around a potential India-U.S. trade agreement,” said Vikram Kasat of PL Capital. He also noted that a rebound in Asian currencies and easing global trade tensions added to the bullish sentiment, despite subdued activity in some global markets due to holidays.
The Adani Group dominated investor interest, with several of its stocks jumping as much as 11% following reports of senior executives meeting with officials from the Trump administration. Adani Ports led the Sensex gainers, surging 6.3%.
Other major gainers included Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Power Grid Corporation, and Tata Motors. However, Kotak Mahindra Bank dropped 4.5%, making it the session’s biggest laggard, while SBI and Axis Bank also closed in the red.
Broader market indices outperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE MidCap index climbing 1.5% and the SmallCap index advancing 1.2%.
Among sectoral indices, oil and gas stocks saw strong buying interest, pushing the BSE Oil and Gas index up 2%, largely due to gains in oil marketing companies. Consumer durables, energy, and FMCG stocks also posted gains exceeding 1%.
The BSE Bankex, however, declined nearly 1%, dragged down by pressure on key banking counters.
“The strong start reflects investor optimism driven by corporate news and sector-specific momentum,” analysts said.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee appreciated 13 paise to close at 84.32 against the U.S. dollar, supported by continued foreign inflows. “We expect the rupee to trade between 84.00 and 84.75 in the near term, with global risk sentiment and commodity prices shaping volatility,” said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities.
Gold prices also surged on Monday amid expectations of an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve later this week, triggering a wave of buying in the precious metal. (Source: IANS)
