Markets held firm through Monday's mid-session trade, with the BSE Sensex at 77,244.65, up 580.44 points or 0.76 per cent, and the Nifty 50 at 24,076.65, up 178.70 points or 0.75 per cent, as of 12.45 pm. According to reports from The Hindu BusinessLine, the Sensex started at 76,856.05 and the Nifty at 23,945.45 against their Friday closes of 76,664.21 and 23,897.95 respectively. Market breadth on BSE was decisively positive, with 3,181 stocks advancing against 711 declines and 188 unchanged out of 3,181 traded. Eighty-one stocks hit 52-week highs while 21 touched 52-week lows, with 95 stocks locked in upper circuits and 86 in lower circuits.
Sun Pharma emerged as the standout performer of the session, surging 6.96 per cent to ₹1,733.10 from its previous close of ₹1,620.40, touching a high of ₹1,766.90 on volumes of over 1.91 crore shares worth ₹3,30,195 lakh. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, the pharmaceutical sector has emerged as a key defensive anchor through a week of broad-based selling, and Monday's move amplified that trend decisively. Adani Ports rose 2.50 per cent to ₹1,624.80 from ₹1,585.10, while JSW Steel gained 2.36 per cent to ₹1,285.30 from ₹1,255.70, with metals sector buying picking up as the session progressed.
TCS, which has been under pressure alongside the broader IT pack following weak guidance from peers last week, recovered 2.21 per cent to ₹2,449.80 from its previous close of ₹2,396.90, with over 31 lakh shares traded worth ₹75,442 lakh. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, ILIFE added 2.14 per cent to ₹1,806.70 from ₹1,768.90. Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, noted that buying was visible across IT, pharma, metals and real estate, though he flagged the recovery as tentative, citing elevated oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty as factors keeping investors watchful.
Shriram Finance was the steepest decliner among Nifty 50 constituents, falling 4.08 per cent to ₹970.00 from ₹1,011.30 on volumes of over 96.51 lakh shares worth ₹94,285 lakh. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, Axis Bank slid 3.51 per cent to ₹1,318.00 from ₹1,365.90 on heavy turnover of ₹99,224 lakh, with the stock having opened flat but selling accelerating through the morning. BEL dropped 1.81 per cent to ₹436.40 from ₹444.45, Coal India fell 0.79 per cent to ₹452.40 from ₹456.00, and Tata Consumer Products dipped 0.66 per cent to ₹1,166.20 from ₹1,174.00.
In commodities, MCX Crude Oil was trading near ₹8,990, staging a sharp recovery above its ascending trendline with immediate resistance at ₹9,185, while US WTI consolidated near $95.25 with resistance at $97.50. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, Brent crude remained in the $105–108 per barrel range, continuing to act as an inflation concern and a drag on India's import bill. MCX Gold was trading near ₹1,52,500, with a sustained move above ₹1,54,000 seen as necessary to revive momentum, while MCX Silver broke above the key ₹2,44,400 resistance level to trade near ₹2,45,200. The rupee continued to weaken, with USD/INR near ₹94.22 and climbing, sustaining above its long-term ascending trendline with immediate resistance at ₹94.50.
