MUMBAI– The Indian equity market closed with solid gains on Monday, rising nearly 1 percent as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) returned to buying. Positive quarterly earnings from public sector banks, strong mutual fund inflows, and buying across the broader market helped fuel the rally.
The Sensex climbed 746.29 points, or 0.93 percent, to settle at 80,604.08. The 30-share index opened flat at 79,885.36, compared with Friday’s close of 79,857.79, but soon gained momentum on the back of FII activity and robust July mutual fund inflow data. It touched an intraday high of 80,636.05.
The Nifty ended at 24,585.05, up 221.75 points, or 0.91 percent.
“The market staged a relief rally after hitting a three-month low. Positive global cues and the gradual return of FIIs supported investor sentiment,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Public sector banks outperformed following strong first-quarter results, while broad-based gains were seen across sectors. Investors are also eyeing the upcoming U.S.-Russia summit this week, which could ease geopolitical tensions, Nair added.
Top gainers included Tata Motors, Eternal, Adani Ports, Trent, SBI, L&T, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, and Kotak Bank. Bharti Airtel, BEL, and ICICI Bank ended marginally lower.
Sectoral indices largely rode the bullish wave. Nifty Financial Services rose 238 points (0.91%), Nifty Bank gained 505 points (0.92%), Nifty Auto advanced 249 points (1%), and Nifty IT climbed 146 points (0.42%).
The broader market mirrored the rally: Nifty Next 50 jumped 769 points (1.17%), Nifty 100 rose 238 points (0.96%), Nifty Midcap 100 added 476 points (0.85%), and Nifty Smallcap 100 edged up 63 points (0.36%).
Equity-oriented mutual funds saw net inflows of ₹42,702 crore in July, up 81 percent from ₹23,587 crore in June, according to the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). The industry’s total assets under management (AUM) reached ₹75.36 lakh crore at the end of July, up from ₹74.40 lakh crore in June and ₹72.19 lakh crore in May.
Gold prices retreated as news of U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned August 15 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin—aimed at discussing the Russia-Ukraine war—sparked hopes for a resolution, prompting profit-taking.
“Comex gold slipped from $3,400 to $3,355, while MCX gold fell by ₹1,200 to ₹1,00,550. This week, U.S. CPI and core CPI data will be closely watched for further cues. Gold is expected to trade between ₹99,500 and ₹1,02,000,” said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities. (Source: IANS)
