The stock market ended higher on Monday, with benchmark indices hitting fresh one-year highs, supported by strong gains in energy and select banking stocks even as heavyweight lenders slipped post-earnings.
The NSE Nifty 50 rose 133 points to close at 25843, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 411 points to end at 84363.
The Nifty Bank index advanced 320 points to 58033 and the broader midcap index outperformed, rising 442 points to 59345. Market breadth remained positive, with the NSE advance-decline ratio at 3:2.
“The continued buoyancy in the banking pack, coupled with rotational buying across other sectors, is driving the index higher with each passing session. As the Nifty approaches the 26000 mark, some consolidation cannot be ruled out before a fresh breakout; however, the overall bias remains positive,” said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking.
Public sector banks rallied after recent quarterly results, led by gains in AU Small Finance Bank, Federal Bank and IDFC First Bank. RBL Bank surged over 9 per cent after Emirates NBD announced a deal to acquire a stake in the lender.
Reliance jumped more than 3.5 per cent after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings, emerging as the top contributor to Nifty gains. Among other major movers, TCS, Hindalco, Titan, Apollo Hospitals and Infosys also closed higher.
However, banking heavyweights ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank slipped after reporting their Q2 results, with ICICI Bank falling around 3 per cent. Insurance stocks such as Niva Bupa and Star Health dropped about 2 per cent each. Dixon Technologies declined nearly 4 per cent after CLSA downgraded the stock and cut its FY26 revenue growth guidance to 30–35 per cent.
“The Indian market extended its positive momentum, driven by better-than-expected Q2 results from major companies and festival optimism,” Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Investments, said.
Kotak Securities is cautiously bullish on India for Samvat 2082. “We expect some stability in earnings after large downgrades over the past 12-15 months and a strong growth in earnings in FY27,” the brokerage said in a note.
Stock exchanges BSE and NSE will conduct a special Muhurat trading session on Tuesday. The symbolic trading session will be held between 1:45 pm and 2:45 pm. The market will remain closed for regular trading on Tuesday, but a special trading window will be open for one hour.
Rupee boost
The rupee rose 9 paise to close at 87.93 against the US dollar on Monday, supported by foreign fund inflows and lower crude oil prices.
