Indian stocks started Monday on a strong note. The Sensex surged about 900 points and the Nifty 50 moved above 23,300, with both indices up more than 1%. Cooling crude prices and strong results from index heavyweights led the rally.
In less than an hour after the open, the combined market value of all BSE-listed companies rose by more than Rs 6 lakh crore to Rs 480 lakh crore.
Reliance Industries led the Sensex with a gain of over 5%. Tata Steel rose 4%. NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, BEL, Power Grid, SBI, Asian Paints, TCS, M&M, UltraTech Cement, HUL, L&T, Bharti Airtel and Adani Ports gained 1% to 3%. Sun Pharma fell 2%.
Among sectors, Nifty Oil & Gas climbed nearly 3%. Nifty Metal, PSU Bank and Consumer Durables each gained more than 1%. Nifty Pharma and Nifty Private Bank slipped into the red.
Broader markets lagged the benchmarks but stayed positive. The Nifty Smallcap 250 and Nifty Midcap 100 were each up about 0.6%. On the NSE, 2,053 stocks advanced and 921 declined, while 98 were unchanged.
Seven factors helped the rally.
Oil prices fall
Crude dropped more than 3% as Iranian and Qatari officials held talks for a third straight day. They are trying to reach a deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began in February and has unsettled energy markets since. Brent crude has eased to $110 a barrel from last week’s high of $118. Prices had spiked recently on more attacks on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which carried 20% of the world’s oil shipments before the conflict escalated.
Strong results from heavyweights
Reliance reported a 41% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 25,548 crore for the July-September quarter of FY27, against Rs 18,165 crore a year earlier. Jio Platforms, which listed last week as India’s second most valuable company, gained over 3% after posting a 14% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,389 crore.
Foreign investors return
After heavy selling last month and in the first half of October, foreign investors have turned net buyers. They have bought nearly $1.2 billion of Indian equities over the past 10 sessions. On Friday they bought shares worth nearly Rs 3,599 crore, according to provisional NSE data.
Hopes of capital gains tax relief
Investors are hoping for relief on long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax. Reuters reported that Sebi has recommended removing the LTCG tax on foreign investors and has proposed tax relief for domestic mutual fund investors. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said earlier this month that discussions on LTCG and securities transaction tax were continuing.
Rupee firms up
The rupee rose nearly 0.07% to open at 94.8850 against the dollar, from 94.95 at the previous close. Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities said a fall in precious metal prices eased import worries ahead of the festive season. He added that sentiment also improved on speculation that the RBI and the Finance Ministry could consider tax changes or other steps to draw foreign inflows. He cautioned that these expectations remain speculative and that actual announcements will matter.
Bond yields ease
The US 10-year Treasury yield fell below the key 5% mark. The 30-year yield dropped to 5.3%, and the 2-year yield, which tracks expectations of Fed rate moves, hovered near 4.6%. Lower yields tend to make equities more attractive.
Weakness in the AI trade
The Nasdaq fell over 4% on Friday and nearly 6% this month. More than $2 trillion in market value is said to have been erased as Big Tech earnings sharpened worries about whether heavy AI spending will pay off quickly enough. Indian markets are seen as an “anti-AI” trade, and IT stocks have been rallying recently.
What analysts say
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said domestic and external cues both point to a turnaround. He cited the US 10-year yield falling to 4.93% and the sharp weakening of the AI trade. At home, he pointed to credit growth of 17.94% and strong GST collections in October as signs of a resilient economy.
He also said the market appears to be pricing in a thorough overhaul of LTCG tax in the coming Budget, most likely its abolition. “For now, it is advantage for bulls,” he said.
Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Investments, struck a more careful note on the technical picture. He said volatility is likely to return as the Nifty approaches October’s peak.
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