Sensex Gains 107 Points, Nifty Reclaims 25,000 As Banking Stocks Lead Rally

Indian benchmark equity indices ended higher on Monday, supported by declining crude oil prices and strong buying in banking and financial stocks, despite intermittent profit-booking following a sharp rally last week.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 107.25 points, or 0.13 per cent, to settle at 81,106.65. It had advanced 340.01 points during the session to touch an intraday high of 81,339.41. The NSE Nifty climbed 58.25 points, or 0.23 per cent, to close at 25,044.65, reclaiming the crucial 25,000 mark.

Among Sensex constituents, State Bank of India, Trent, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the major gainers. In contrast, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement and Bajaj Finance ended lower.

Banking stocks led sectoral gains, with the PSU Bank index surging 3.76 per cent, followed by Bankex (1.41 per cent), Top 10 Banks (1.14 per cent) and Private Banks (0.85 per cent). Healthcare, financial services and power stocks also advanced. However, telecommunications, IT, metals, commodities and FMCG sectors faced selling pressure.

The BSE MidCap Select index rose 0.34 per cent, while the SmallCap Select index edged up 0.07 per cent.

Last week, Sensex had surged 6,568.49 points, or 8.82 per cent, while Nifty gained 1,977.25 points, or 8.57 per cent. Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 1.04 per cent to USD 97.46 per barrel.

Geojit Investments Head of Research Vinod Nair said improving foreign institutional investor participation and better-than-expected corporate earnings had strengthened expectations of an upgrade to the FY27 earnings outlook. He also highlighted easing geopolitical concerns and lower crude prices as supportive factors.

Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said the market's ability to retain gains despite early profit-booking reflected continued investor confidence, supported by foreign institutional buying and a relatively stable rupee.

Indian equity markets will remain closed on Tuesday, November 10, for Diwali-Balipratipada. Investors will monitor US October CPI data and India's October retail inflation figures, scheduled for Thursday, for further market direction.