Mumbai: Indian equity benchmarks started the month on a strong note on Monday, trading higher in early deals despite elevated oil prices and ongoing geopolitical tensions, with both indices gaining almost 1 per cent.
Sensex rose nearly 600 points or 0.8 per cent to hit an intraday high of 75,367, while Nifty climbed 185 points or 0.78 per cent to trade at 23,733.
Sectoral trends remained largely positive, led by IT stocks. Nifty IT emerged as the top sectoral gainer, rising around 2 per cent, while Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom advanced more than 1 per cent. Media, chemicals and metal stocks also traded in the green.
However, FMCG stocks remained under pressure, with the Nifty FMCG index declining 0.57 per cent. Auto and healthcare indices also traded marginally lower.
Among Nifty constituents, Hindustan Unilever emerged as the top loser, falling 1.35 per cent, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra, which slipped 0.95 per cent. NTPC, Tata Consumer Products, Power Grid and Bharat Electronics also traded lower, while Nestle India, ITC and Sun Pharma declined up to 0.60 per cent.
Meanwhile, India VIX — the market’s volatility gauge — fell more than 1 per cent to around 16.
Last month, US President Donald Trump said he would soon decide on a proposed deal to extend the ceasefire with Iran, although the two countries still appeared divided on key issues central to the conflict.
However, the US later carried out strikes over the weekend on Iranian radar and drone command-and-control sites in Iran’s Goruk and Qeshm Island, according to the military.
The strikes were launched in response to what the US described as “aggressive Iranian actions”, including the downing of a US MQ-1 drone that “was operating over international waters”, US Central Command said in a post on X.
In addition, reports claim that the American President is planning to modify the terms of the agreement with Iran to end the war, even as Tehran prepares to introduce new elements.
On the commodities front, international benchmark Brent crude rose 2.63 per cent to $93.52 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained more than 3 per cent to $90.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks traded mostly higher, with major indices — Nikkei, Hang Seng and KOSPI — jumping up to 4 per cent.
(IANS)
