Bulls Fight Back: Nifty Reclaims 24,350, Sensex Gains 150+ Points After Volatile Monday Opening
Indian equity benchmarks made a comeback in the first hour of trade on Monday. Despite an initial slip that saw the Nifty 50 drop to a low of 24,241.25, buying interest in heavy-duty banking stocks and select auto majors helped indices pivot into the green. By 10:09 AM, the Sensex had climbed over 150 points, while the Nifty 50 stabilized above the 24,380 mark, buoyed by positive reaction to weekend corporate earnings.
- Republic Business
- 2 min read
The Indian stock market showed intraday resilience on Monday morning, reversing an early-morning sell-off triggered by mixed global signals. While the indices opened with a downward gap, aggressive "buying on dips" in the banking and financial services sector successfully pulled the benchmarks into positive territory.
As of 10:09 AM, the Nifty 50 was trading at 24,386.70, up 33.15 points or 0.14%. The index displayed sharp volatility, swinging within a 178.95-point range between its intraday high of 24,420.20 and a low of 24,241.25.
The BSE Sensex stood at 78,651.60, marking a gain of 158.06 points or 0.20%. The recovery from the morning's low represents a significant bounce-back, as the index successfully defended psychological support levels.
Stocks in Focus: Banking Heavyweights Lead
The primary catalyst for the recovery was ICICI Bank, which emerged as the top gainer on the Nifty. Investors cheered the lender’s Q4 results, which saw a net profit jump of 18.5% year-on-year to ₹11,672 crore. The stock’s 2.2% rise provided the necessary ballast to lift the broader Nifty Bank index.
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Axis Bank and HDFC Bank followed suit, gaining 0.8% and 0.4% respectively, as sectoral rotation favored high-quality financials. In the auto space, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) saw a 1.1% uptick following positive brokerage notes on its upcoming SUV launch pipeline.
Conversely, the IT pack remained a drag. Infosys and HCL Tech traded lower by 0.7% to 1.2%, as concerns regarding discretionary spending in the US market continued to weigh on sentiment. Reliance Industries (RIL) was trading flat, oscillating between minor gains and losses as the market awaited further cues on its refining margins.
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Factors Driving the "Flat-to-Positive" Move
- Strong Earnings Tailwinds: The performance of ICICI Bank has set a positive tone for the financial sector’s earnings trajectory, encouraging investors to look past global macro concerns.
- Institutional Activity: Steady support from Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), who have been offsetting intermittent selling by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs).
- Technical Support: Nifty 50 found strong demand near its 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) of 24,250, which triggered the sharp reversal seen between 9:30 AM and 10:00 AM.