Sensex, Nifty rally for 5th straight day

Indian equity benchmarks surged over a per cent on Monday, registering their fifth day of rally on the back of buying in Oil & Gas, Power and IT shares. The rally has also been fuelled by sustained foreign inflows, with Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remaining net buyers for the past three trading sessions.  

Some of the important factors in today’s trade:  

Encouraging quarterly earnings: HDFC Bank shares climbed around 1 per cent after the leading private lender reported a 7 per cent growth in its consolidated net profit for the March quarter to Rs 18,835 crore. Infosys shares rallied over 2 per cent after the company's March quarter net profit rose by 3.3 per cent sequentially. 

RBI to monitor rapidly evolving global situation: Amid the ongoing tariff war, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra has said that the central bank will continuously monitor the rapidly evolving global situation and remain 'agile and proactive' in its policy actions.

India needs to create 8 to 10 million jobs annually: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Principal Secretary PK Mishra emphasized the need for 8-10 million annual job creations in India, urging IIM Sambalpur students to acquire technical knowledge and practical skills.

India will navigate global disruptions with policy agility, long-term vision: Amid escalating global trade tensions, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the rise of protectionist policies has the potential to disrupt global supply chains but India will navigate the global disruptions with policy agility and long-term vision. 

Rupee gains against US Dollar: Indian rupee sustained its rally for the fifth straight session and settled with strong gains against the US dollar, boosted by a sharp fall in the dollar index and a surge in the domestic equities. 

Global front: Asian markets settled mostly higher on Monday, as the postponement of U.S. tariffs and newly announced exemptions on certain products sparked hopes for possible negotiations that might ease the strain on global trade. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 855.30 points or 1.09% to 79,408.50, and the CNX Nifty was up by 273.90 points or 1.15% to 24,125.55.    

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 79,635.05 and 78,776.06 respectively. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 2.20%, while Small cap index was up by 1.67%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 2.61%, Power up by 2.49%, IT up by 2.31%, Realty up by 2.27% and PSU up by 2.16%, while FMCG down by 0.75% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 4.91%, Indusind Bank up by 4.24%, Power Grid Corporation up by 3.61%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.51% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.28%. On the flip side, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.32%, ITC down by 1.04%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.04%, Asian Paints down by 0.99% and Nestle down by 0.37% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid the ongoing tariff war, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra has said that the central bank will continuously monitor the rapidly evolving global situation and remain 'agile and proactive' in its policy actions. Observing that the Indian economy and the financial markets have demonstrated remarkable resilience, Malhotra cautioned that ‘they are not immune to the vagaries of an uncertain and volatile global environment’. He said ‘In view of the rapidly evolving situation, especially on the global front, we are continuously monitoring and assessing the economic outlook. We will be agile and proactive in our actions on the policy front, as always’. He said the growth-inflation balance has improved significantly and there has been a decisive improvement in headline inflation which is projected to remain aligned to the target of 4 per cent in FY26. However, global uncertainties and weather disturbances pose risks to the inflation outlook.

He added ‘Even though we have projected a somewhat lower real GDP growth for FY26 at 6.5 per cent, India is still the fastest growing economy. Yet, it is much below what we aspire for. We have reduced repo rates twice and provided sufficient liquidity’. On the Indian financial markets, the Governor said all market segments including FX, G-sec, Money Markets, have largely remained stable. He noted while the rupee came under a bit of pressure a few months ago, it has fared better thereafter and regained some lost ground. Equity markets experienced significant correction, as capital outflows accelerated, a trend seen in most emerging markets. The government securities market has, however, remained rock-steady throughout the year.

He further said the gross market borrowings of the central and state governments, totalling Rs 24.7 lakh crore in FY 2024-25, sailed through smoothly. The cost of borrowing for the central government came down by 28 basis points to 6.96 per cent in FY25, from 7.24 per cent in FY24. The secondary market in g-secs continued to be deep and active, partly aided by India's inclusion in global bond indices. In India, Malhotra said markets have evolved within a regulated framework, adapting to changing regulatory philosophies and approaches. He also emphasised that the foreign exchange markets are reasonably liquid with narrow bid-ask spreads and there is growing transparency in this market. The Reserve Bank has recently announced that access to FX Retail will also be provided through the Bharat Connect platform. In the first phase, a pilot to facilitate purchase of US dollars by individuals is planned. Subsequently, its scope will be expanded based on the experience gained.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 24,189.55 and 23,903.65. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.   

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 5.14%, Trent up by 4.32%, Indusind Bank up by 4.06%, Power Grid Corporation up by 3.56% and Hero MotoCorp up by 3.49%. On the flip side, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.27%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.12%, ITC down by 1.01%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.97% and Asian Paints down by 0.94% were the top losers.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Monday, buoyed by the risk appetite in the markets amidst optimism surrounding potential developments in trade negotiations. Investor sentiments got boosted after the PBoC held its key loan prime rates steady, signalling its focus to stabilize local currency yuan. Shanghai stocks advanced with the state-backed buying from domestic financial institutions. Bucking the trend, Japan's Nikkie tumbled after the local currency yen got appreciated and weighed down Japan's export-oriented sectors.