Indian equities extended their sharp rally on Monday, buoyed by optimism over a possible easing of tensions involving Iran and the resulting decline in crude oil prices. Although benchmark indices pared some of their early gains, investor sentiment remained firmly positive, with buying seen across most sectors.
The Sensex surged past the 76,500 mark during the morning session after touching an intraday high of 76,821. The Nifty briefly crossed 24,000 before surrendering part of its gains.
Most sectoral indices traded in the green, with only pharmaceuticals and healthcare stocks witnessing weakness.
Key gainers included:
Realty stocks
Metal companies
Automobile manufacturers
Financial services firms
Commercial vehicle makers witnessed strong buying amid expectations that an improvement in export markets could boost truck sales.
Major gainers included:
Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles – up as much as 8 percent
Ashok Leyland – up around 5 percent
Eicher Motors – gained 3 percent
Mahindra & Mahindra – rose 2.5 percent
Passenger vehicle manufacturers also rallied:
Tata Motors PV business – up about 5 percent
Maruti Suzuki – gained nearly 3 percent
The decline in crude oil prices triggered a rally in oil marketing companies, with several stocks gaining up to 5 percent.
Aviation counters also benefited from expectations of lower fuel costs:
InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) and other airline stocks rose by up to 5 percent.
Financial services companies remained among the strongest performers.
Notable movers included:
Cholamandalam Investment – up 6 percent
Shriram Finance – gained 5 percent
Bajaj Finance – advanced 4 percent
Muthoot Finance – rose 5 percent
Manappuram Finance – gained 3 percent
Expectations of stronger economic activity supported tyre manufacturers.
Apollo Tyres – up 5 percent
JK Tyre – up 5 percent
MRF – gained 4 percent
Balkrishna Industries – rose 3.5 percent
CEAT – advanced 4.3 percent
Four companies created through the demerger of Vedanta Ltd made their stock market debut during the morning session.
Listing prices were:
Vedanta Aluminium – ₹522
Vedanta Power – ₹41.80
Vedanta Iron & Steel – ₹18
Vedanta Oil – ₹38
Among the newly listed entities, Vedanta Iron & Steel moved higher after listing, while the other three traded below their debut prices.
Brokerage Nuvama has assigned a target price of ₹475 for Vedanta Aluminium.
UBS initiated coverage on Lenskart with a ‘buy’ recommendation and a target price of ₹730.
Macquarie reiterated its ‘outperform’ rating on GMR Airports and raised its target price to ₹125.
The rupee extended its gains against the US dollar.
The dollar opened 43 paise lower at ₹94.68.
It later slipped further to around ₹94.55.
Gold prices strengthened in both global and domestic markets.
Spot gold traded around $4,325 an ounce in international markets.
In Kerala, 22-carat gold rose by ₹1,800 per sovereign to ₹1,11,120.
Crude prices remained under pressure as concerns over supply disruptions eased.
Brent crude initially slipped towards $83 a barrel.
Later, Brent traded at $83.31.
WTI crude stood at $80.24 a barrel.
Sensex: Above 76,500
Nifty: Above 24,000 (intraday)
Rupee: ₹94.55 per $
Gold (22-carat): ₹1,11,120 per sovereign
Brent crude: $83.31 per barrel
WTI crude: $80.24 per barrel
