Sensex and Nifty gain in early trade as banking, financial stocks drive market rally
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty saw strong gains in early trade on Monday, driven by buying in banking and financial stocks and supported by a positive trend in global equities. The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 460.38 points, or 0.57%, to 81,841.74, while the NSE Nifty climbed 138.80 points, or 0.56%, to 25,103.05. Among the top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro, JSW Steel, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports & SEZ, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, and Infosys. In contrast, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, Maruti Suzuki India, TCS, Asian Paints, Nestle India, and Hindustan Unilever saw declines.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹4,162.66 crore on Friday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹3,730.87 crore, according to exchange data. This month, FIIs have sold ₹58,710 crore worth of equity, with DIIs absorbing the outflows due to consistent fund inflows. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, noted that the FII selling and DII buying trend is expected to continue, particularly as Chinese stocks remain cheaper compared to India's elevated valuations. He also highlighted the resilience of IT and banking stocks, driven by expected strong Q2 results.
In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Seoul were trading in the green, while Hong Kong saw a decline. Wall Street closed higher on Friday, providing further support to the positive market sentiment. However, Vijayakumar pointed out that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty surrounding the upcoming US presidential elections could weigh on the markets.
Global oil benchmark Brent Crude fell by 1.09%, trading at USD 78.18 per barrel. On Friday, the BSE Sensex fell 230.05 points to close at 81,381.36, while the NSE Nifty dropped 34.20 points, settling at 24,964.25.