Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: After the Maharashtra Assembly results promised political and economic stability in the financial capital of India, which beat anti-incumbency fears, and positive global indications, the South Asian nation’s stock markets zoomed over 1 percent on Monday and the Indian rupee appreciated over 10 paise to the US dollar.
The stock market opened on a bullish note with the BSE and NSE indices logging over 1.5 percent gains. The NSE Nifty topped the 24,300 level and was up 350 points following the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance’s landslide victory in Maharashtra elections. Index heavyweights SBI and RIL were the top gainers in the beginning.
Indian benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, settled over 1 percent higher on Monday. While Sensex closed at 80,109.85, positive by 992.74 points or 1.25 percent, Nifty 50 ended the day’s trade at 24,221.90, up 314.65 points or 1.32 percent, the media reported.
In another significant development, the Indian rupee appreciated 10 paise to close at 84.31 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, supported by a firm trend in domestic equities amid improved investor risk appetite.
Forex traders said investor sentiment got a boost after the Israeli ambassador to Washington said the Hezbollah ceasefire deal could come “within days.”
At the interbank foreign exchange, the Indian rupee opened at 84.38 and touched an intra-day high of 84.25 against the American dollar. The unit ended the session at 84.31 (provisional) against the greenback, registering a rise of 10 paise over its previous close. On Friday last, the Indian rupee recovered from its all-time low level and appreciated 9 paise to close at 84.41 against the US dollar.
Top gainers on Monday included ONGC (5.48 percent), BEL (4.33 pc), L&T (4.26 pc), BPCL (4.01 pc), and Shriram Finance (3.78pc), while the top losers were JSW Steel (-2.32 pc), Tech Mahindra (-0.71 pc), Infosys (-0.59 pc), Maruti (-0.55 pc), and Bajaj Auto (-0.39 pc).
Among the top Sensex 30 shares – Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Adani Ports were the biggest percentage movers – up around 3 percent each. SBI, Reliance Industries also surged 2.5 per cent each. Among the index contributors, HDFC Bank, Reliance, and ICICI Bank collectively contributed 50 percent of the gains on the BSE Sensex.
Sectorally, capital goods, banking, and energy-related indices were the lead gainers on Dalal Street in early deals on Monday.
With a strong mandate for the BJP, which also heads the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, market participants are optimistic about stability and higher government spending ahead.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of 46,712 contracts of index futures worth Rs 3,018.47 crore on Friday last, the highest single-day net gain since September 22, 2024. The FII’s long-short ratio in index futures dropped from 3:1 in favor of the bears to 2:1.
Asian stocks were seen trading with notable gains on Monday with a focus on Japan’s inflation data. US futures too pointed towards a higher open with the US dollar seeing a decline following an 8-week rally.
Japan’s Nikkei rallied 1.3 percent. Kospi too jumped 1.4 percent; while Taiwan and Straits Times were up around 0.4 percent each. Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite index, however, reversed gains and slipped into the negative zone.