Key gauges snap 2-day fall as focus shifts to RBI MPC meeting

Snapping a two-day losing streak, Indian equity benchmarks experienced a positive trading session and ended over half a percent higher on Monday, supported by robust buying in Metal, Realty and Basic Materials shares, improved global cues, and renewed optimism ahead of major corporate earnings and the upcoming RBI policy announcement. 

Some of the important factors in today’s trade: 

RBI MPC deliberates on Bi-Monthly Policy: The RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra-headed rate-setting panel on Monday started the three-day deliberations to decide the next bi-monthly monetary policy amid expectations of pause in the rate easing cycle.   

Oil prices drop: Underlying sentiment was also supported by falling oil prices on supply glut fears and a weaker dollar due to tariff-related worries and growing fears of political influence on key institutions in the U.S.   

Kharif crops sowing this season may exceed level of last year by reasonable margin: ICRA in its latest report has said that kharif crops sowing this season may exceed the level of last year by a reasonable margin. It said aided by favourable monsoon, kharif sowing has been completed on 76 per cent of the normal sown area and is up by a rise of four per cent year-on-year as of July 2025.

Government working on support measures to protect exporters from Trump tariff: In efforts to protect exporters from the impact of the Trump tariff, the government is working on certain support measures for exporters in sectors like textiles and chemicals, as US President Donald Trump has announced an additional 25 per cent import duty on Indian goods entering America from August 7. 

Global front: European markets were trading higher as investors kept an eye on the latest batch of earnings and watched further developments on the tariff front. Asian markets settled mixed as soft U.S. jobs data stirred concerns over the impact of new tariffs on the world's largest economy but fueled bets on a Federal Reserve rate cut in September. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 418.81 points or 0.52% to 81,018.72 and the CNX Nifty was up by 157.40 points or 0.64% to 24,722.75.  

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 81,093.19 and 80,500.51 respectively. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index. 

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.11%, while Small cap index was up by 0.76%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.58%, Realty up by 1.88%, Basic Materials up by 1.79%, Auto up by 1.54%, and TECK up by 1.46%, while FMCG down by 0.04% and Bankex down by 0.02% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 4.31%, Bharat Electronics up by 3.55%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 3.24%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.53% and TCS up by 2.39%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.10%, HDFC Bank down by 0.99%, ICICI Bank down by 0.60% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.25% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in efforts to protect exporters from the impact of the Trump tariff, the government is working on certain support measures for exporters in sectors like textiles and chemicals, as US President Donald Trump has announced an additional 25 per cent import duty on Indian goods entering America from August 7. The commerce ministry has held meetings with several export sectors, including steel, food processing, engineering, marine, and agriculture, to understand issues they may face due to high tariffs. 

Indian exporters from various sectors, including food, marine, and textiles, have sought financial assistance and affordable credit from the government to cope with the 25 per cent Trump tariff. Exporters are requesting the government to extend fiscal incentives such as interest subsidy and extension of RoDTEP scheme (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products), RoSCTL (Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies), timely payment of dues, and a direct shipping line to the US.

The ministry is considering these demands and the ministry will also engage with states to support the exporters. The sectors, which would be impacted by the high tax of the US, include textiles/ clothing, gems and jewellery, shrimp, leather and footwear, chemicals, and electrical and mechanical machinery.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 24,736.25 and 24,554.00. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 5.18%, Tata Steel up by 4.08%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 3.56%, Bharat Electronics up by 3.37% and JSW Steel up by 2.86%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.12%, HDFC Bank down by 0.88%, ONGC down by 0.70%, Apollo Hospital down by 0.58% and ICICI Bank down by 0.58% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 24.26 points or 0.27 to 9,092.84, France’s CAC rose 57.84 points or 0.77 to 7,604.00 and Germany’s DAX gained 304.53 points or 1.3 to 23,730.50.

Asian markets settled mixed on Monday, as the participants sidelined amidst concerns over implications of new trade tariffs and on softer US job growth. South Korea's KOSPI rebounded from previous session's four-week low rate, buoyed by the strong performances in major tech stocks. On the flip side, Japan's Nikkei tumbled the most among Asian indices, about two-week low rate.