Indian stock markets opened in the green on Monday with Sensex trading flat at 78,502 and Nifty 50 rising above 24,580 despite rising oil prices and escalating Middle East worries. According to The Economic Times, Sensex opened nearly unchanged while Nifty 50 opened 11 points higher at 24,581. The market opened in the green even as India VIX, which measures volatility in the market, jumped over 5% to 12.82. Titan, ICICI Bank, Trent and HCL Tech shares were the top gainers on Sensex, rising 0.5-2%, while NTPC, Bharti Airtel, NTPC and Bajaj Finance shares fell nearly 1% each to lead losses. Among the sectors, Nifty PSU Bank rose nearly 1% to lead gains, while Nifty Consumer Durables fell around 0.5%. The overall market breadth was positive with NSE seeing 1,454 advances against 1,174 declines, while 139 stocks remained unchanged.
The Nifty 50 has staged a healthy recovery from its March lows and continues to exhibit an improving price structure, indicating a gradual resumption of the broader uptrend. The index has delivered a decisive close above the key resistance zone of 24,620, which also coincides with the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), marking the end of a prolonged consolidation phase and signals renewed buying interest. Going forward, the 24,750–24,800 zone is likely to remain a key resistance area for Nifty, with a sustained breakout above 24,800 potentially triggering a strong upward move towards 25,000, with the potential to extend further to 25,200 in the near term. On the downside, the 24,450–24,400 range is expected to provide crucial support, and holding above this zone will be important for maintaining the current positive bias. According to The Economic Times, Friday's failure to attract enough bearish momentum has reduced Nifty's chances of an outright fall to 24,400 or to confirm a bearish trend reversal. The oscillators continue to paint a consolidation picture within the 24,400-24,775 band with 24,570-24,500 emerging as a support band while 24,650-24,690-24,730 pose as upside challenge points.
LIC rose 1.61% following the company's standalone net profit jumping 22.81% year-on-year to ₹13,492.03 crore in Q1 FY27 from ₹10,986.51 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Total income increased 7.01% YoY to ₹2,40,390.96 crore. Hero MotoCorp added 2.07% after reporting a 29% increase in standalone net profit to ₹1,454 crore on a 36% jump in revenue from operations to ₹12,999 crore in Q1 FY27 as compared with Q1 FY26. Britannia Industries advanced 1.99% with the company recording a 13.56% jump in consolidated net profit to ₹591.35 crore in Q1 FY27 compared with ₹520.72 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last year, with net sales rising 8.17% YoY to ₹4,999.97 crore. Fortis Healthcare shed 0.65% despite the company's consolidated net profit increasing 2.26% to ₹259.23 crore in Q1 FY27, compared with ₹250.67 crore in Q1 FY26, with net revenue jumping 17.46% YoY to ₹2,545.03 crore.
Despite the latest worries around US-Iran tensions, the undertone of the market is mildly bullish, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments. According to The Economic Times, he noted that the principal bullish factor is the better-than-expected Q1 results, with the vast majority of companies reporting earnings growth that has beaten expectations. The resilient domestic demand will continue to support revenue and earnings growth in Q2, particularly the performance of banking and financial services, autos, pharmaceuticals, metals and digital platform companies. FIIs turning buyers in July and continuing their buying in most of the days in August, so far, is another positive factor. These positive factors have the potential to keep the market resilient, according to Vijayakumar. The deficiency in monsoon has been partly compensated by the good July rains, adding to the positive sentiment.
European equities edged up on Friday and remained on track to secure their strongest weekly gain since late June, supported by a stellar corporate earnings season that has propelled regional benchmarks to consecutive all-time highs. Asian markets traded higher on Friday as investor sentiment improved on hopes that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would help ease crude oil prices and temper inflationary pressures. China's exports grew more than expected in July, with exports rising 23% year-on-year in U.S. dollar terms, easing from 27% growth in June, while imports increased 27.5% from a year earlier. Oil rose Friday amid worries over supply disruptions after Iran published a restrictive draft plan for the Strait of Hormuz, with futures for international benchmark Brent crude for October delivery gaining 1.25% to $83.52 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for September advancing 1.10% at $78.14 per barrel. Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow fell more than 460 points to 53,885.10, breaking a five-day winning run.
