Key gauges rebound sharply on Monday; Nifty above 24,900 mark

Indian equity benchmarks recorded their biggest single-day gains in absolute terms on Monday, skyrocketing nearly 4 per cent, after India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop military actions and US and China announced a deal to lower tariffs significantly. Among sectors, all the major sectoral indices traded in positive territory, but the IT index gained the most, rallying 6.75 percent. 

Some of the important factors in today’s trade: 

Indian economy projected to grow at 6.5% in FY26: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president Sanjiv Puri has said that India's GDP is projected to grow at 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal (FY26) and the country's economy is resilient enough to overcome the short-term impact of geopolitical issues. 

First Round of India-New Zealand FTA negotiation concludes: In a major step towards expanding bilateral trade and investment engagement, the first round of negotiations for the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) concluded successfully on May 9,2025 in New Delhi. The negotiations were held from May 5, 2025-May 9, 2025. 

India's forex reserves fall $2.06 billion: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that India's foreign exchange reserves (Forex) fell $2.06 billion to $686.06 billion in the week that ended on May 2, after extending gains for the eighth straight week. 

India must ensure balanced, fair terms in trade deal with US: Think tank GTRI said that India should take cues from the US-UK trade pact and exercise caution while negotiating an agreement with America to ensure that the deal is reciprocal, balanced, and not driven solely by political considerations.

Supportive global cues: European markets were trading higher buoyed by the positive developments on the trade front. Following negotiations in Switzerland over the weekend, the U.S. and China struck a deal over the weekend to suspend tariffs for 90 days and slash rates going forward. Asian markets settled higher on Monday as easing geopolitical and trade tensions helped increase investors' appetite for risk. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 2975.43 points or 3.74% to 82,429.90, and the CNX Nifty was up by 916.70 points or 3.82% to 24,924.70.    

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 82,495.97 and 80,651.07 respectively. There were 28 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 3.85%, while Small cap index was up by 4.18%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 6.75%, Realty up by 5.87%, Metal up by 5.24%, TECK up by 5.21% and Utilities up by 5.07%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 7.91%, HCL Technologies up by 6.35%, Tata Steel up by 6.16%, Eternal up by 5.68% and Tech Mahindra up by 5.36%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 3.57% and Sun Pharma down by 3.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president Sanjiv Puri has said that India's GDP is projected to grow at 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal (FY26) and the country's economy is resilient enough to overcome the short-term impact of geopolitical issues. He asserted that the country must pursue bilateral trade pacts with key trading partners to protect national interests in the backdrop of increasing trade barriers.

Highlighting that the private investment is picking up across various sectors like energy, transportation, metals, chemicals and hospitality, he said the current geopolitical uncertainties could lead to some cautiousness in investment. He said ‘We are looking at 6.5 per cent. We believe this number can be achieved fundamentally, because the fact is, we are starting with a reasonably good foundation, robust economic foundation.’ He stated ‘In the recent past, interest rates have eased. Inflation is becoming benign. There is this personal income tax concession taking in from the first of April. Investments picked up in public and private space in the latter half of last year.’

Besides, on the high tariffs proposed by US President Donald Trump on several key economies and the trend of rising protectionism globally, Puri acknowledged that ‘more and more barriers to trade are coming in right now’, suggesting that India should do bilateral trade agreements which are mutually beneficial and in the national interest. He said ‘Therefore, the countries that India is pursuing, and the big ones among them, being the US and EU, are important. We should do whatever we have to do from a national interest perspective, and I think, most important is these bilateral trade agreements.’

He also recommended the creation of a three-tier tariff architecture for certain areas to enhance competitiveness. Moreover, he emphasised the need to focus on the domestic drivers of growth and competitiveness. He observed that a lot of work needs to be done on agriculture, climate change and adaptation.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 24,944.80 and 24,378.85. There were 48 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 7.73%, Infosys up by 7.69%, Shriram Finance up by 7.16%, Trent up by 6.79% and Wipro up by 5.99%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 3.45% and Sun Pharma down by 3.15% were the top losers. 

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 28.9 points or 0.34% to 8,583.70, France’s CAC rose 101.97 points or 1.3% to 7,845.72 and Germany’s DAX gained 209.76 points or 0.88% to 23,709.08.

Asian markets settled higher on Monday after China and the United States touted substantial progress on their trade talks. They had agreed a 90-day pause to the deepening trade war that has threatened to upend the global economy. The United States would reduce the tariff on Chinese imports to 30% from its current 145%, while China would lower its import duty on American goods to 10% from 125%. Market sentiments also boosted following the ceasefire between India and Pakistan over the weekend.