The Indian stock market opened with strong gains on Monday, the first day of the trading week. Investor confidence was boosted by a decline in global crude oil prices and signs of easing tensions between the US and Iran. In early trade, the Sensex surged 788.70 points to reach 78,883.34, while the Nifty traded at 24,572.70, up by 189.10 points. With this rally, the Sensex edged closer to the 79,000 mark.
Buying activity was most prominent in metal and FMCG stocks. Nifty Metal and Nifty FMCG emerged as the top-gaining sectors in early trade. Additionally, indices for PSU banks, commodities, IT, auto, infrastructure, services, India Defence, and oil & gas also traded with gains. Conversely, slight weakness was observed in the healthcare, pharma, and media sectors, with their respective indices trading in the red.
The market rally was not limited to large-cap companies; significant buying was also seen in mid-cap and small-cap stocks. The Nifty Midcap 100 rose by approximately 274 points (0.44%) to reach 62,181, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 climbed 164 points (0.85%) to trade at 19,513.
Stocks Leading the Rally
Among the 30 Sensex companies, shares of Indigo, ITC, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, TCS, Infosys, L&T, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Steel, Bharat Electronics (BEL), Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, Trent, Adani Ports, NTPC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and HCL Tech posted gains. On the other hand, declines were recorded in Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, and Bharti Airtel.
What Drove the Market Rally?
According to analysts, the market rally was largely driven by US President Donald Trump’s statement announcing a halt to planned attacks on Iran. This raised hopes of easing tensions in West Asia and led to a sharp drop in crude oil prices. The development offered potential relief to oil-importing nations like India, a sentiment that was reflected positively in the stock market.
Sharp Drop in Crude Oil Prices
At the time of writing, Brent crude had fallen by approximately 5% to $83.66 per barrel, while WTI crude had dropped nearly 5.5% to trade at $80.02 per barrel.