Indian benchmark indices recovered from sharp early losses on Monday as buying in State Bank of India and Reliance Industries provided support to the market. The BSE Sensex dropped 470.50 points to 74,318 in early trade before bouncing back to trade 46.49 points lower at 74,682.78, while NSE Nifty was down 147.10 points to 22,999.05 before recovering to quote 14.55 points lower at 23,131.60. This recovery came after GIFT NIFTY futures trading at 23,111.50, gaining 85 points in early trade, had indicated mixed global cues and investor caution. The previous session saw Sensex climb 413.66 points, or 0.56%, to settle at 74,729.27 and Nifty up 148.80 points, or 0.65%, to end at 23,146.15.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 1.90% lower at $107.8 per barrel, providing some relief from earlier elevated levels. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, noted that Hormuz tensions and the resulting crude surge "will act as a strong headwind to the market... Even though the attractive valuations of large-caps and the appreciation of the rupee have turned the stance of FIIs towards India a bit positive, it is unlikely to sustain, given the high crude price." The elevated crude prices continue to create pressure on energy-sensitive sectors despite some relief from the latest decline.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned buyers on Friday after days of relentless selling, purchasing equities worth ₹1,165.92 crore, according to exchange data. Meanwhile, Domestic Institutional Investors ended their 45-session buying streak with net sales of approximately ₹3,661 crore during the session, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. This divergent flow pattern reflects contrasting sentiment among different investor categories, with foreign investors showing renewed confidence while domestic institutions remained cautious. The previous session's positive momentum from IT, Media and Metal stocks provided foundation for the current trading day, though global uncertainties may continue to impact overall market direction.
State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement, Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, Adani Ports and HCL Tech were among the biggest gainers during the recovery session. However, Axis Bank declined over 4% despite reporting a 39.4% rise in its consolidated net profit to ₹7,704.67 crore for Q2 FY2027, supported by higher core income and improvement in asset quality. HDFC Bank, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever and Trent were also among the major laggards, according to The Hindu. In the energy sector, ONGC gained 1.44% to ₹225.19, while autos saw Eicher Motors advance 1.08% to ₹7,363. In pharma, Cipla added 0.98% to ₹1,338.10.
Dr. Vijayakumar noted that Nifty's 2.8% gain last week, combined with better-than-expected IT and banking results, "have the potential to keep the market resilient". He added that "large-caps outperforming the mid- and small-caps is a rational trend, and this is likely to sustain, going forward." Hitesh Tailor, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Broking, said investors would closely track "Q2 earnings from major banks, movements in foreign fund flows and developments around the Strait of Hormuz, which could influence volatility through the holiday-shortened week." In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Shanghai's SSE Composite index traded in positive territory, while Japan's 225 index quoted lower. The US markets ended lower on Friday with Nasdaq Composite tanking 2.14%, S&P 500 down 1.09% and Dow Jones Industrial Average declining 0.34%.
