India’s benchmark stock indices, the Sensex and Nifty, concluded Monday’s trading session with marginal gains, effectively breaking a two-day streak of declines. This modest recovery was fueled by selective buying interest in the auto and banking sectors, though overall market sentiment remained rather subdued.
The 30-share BSE Sensex edged up by 39.78 points, or 0.05%, to close at 83,978.49. Throughout the day, the index fluctuated, hitting an intra-day high of 84,127 and a low of 83,609.54. Similarly, the broader 50-share NSE Nifty saw a slight increase of 41.25 points, or 0.16%, settling at 25,763.35.
Market analysts attributed the range-bound trading to a combination of factors, including profit-taking activities at higher valuations and the absence of any significant new domestic market triggers. Additionally, continuous outflows from foreign funds contributed to the cautious trading environment.
Among the Sensex components, Mahindra & Mahindra emerged as the top performer, registering a 1.7% gain following the release of its October sales data. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV) also performed well, rising by 1.69%. Other notable gainers included State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Conversely, Maruti Suzuki experienced the steepest decline among Sensex stocks, falling by 3.37%. Other major laggards for the day included ITC, Tata Consultancy Services, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Electronics, and Titan.
Data from the exchanges revealed that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to offload equities, selling holdings worth ₹6,769.34 crore on Friday. In contrast, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) provided crucial support by purchasing stocks valued at ₹7,068.44 crore.
Globally, Asian markets presented a mixed picture, with South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index all closing in positive territory. European markets were also trading with gains, while U.S. markets had closed higher on Friday.
In commodities, the global oil benchmark Brent crude saw a slight dip of 0.14%, trading at $64.71 a barrel.