MUMBAI, India, Aug. 3 (ANI): Indian equity markets closed sharply higher on Monday, supported by a significant decline in crude oil prices, renewed foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows and a stronger rupee, while investors remained focused on the Reserve Bank of India’s upcoming monetary policy meeting.
The Nifty 50 closed at 24,774.30, gaining 390.70 points, or 1.60%, while the BSE Sensex ended at 78,639.03, up 544.39 points, or 0.70%.
Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said falling crude oil prices amid expectations of renewed dialogue between the United States and Iran improved investor sentiment by reducing concerns over inflation and corporate earnings.
“The decline in crude oil prices, driven by expectations of renewed dialogue between the U.S. and Iran, provided relief to markets by easing concerns over inflation and corporate earnings. Market sentiment was further supported by a rebound in FII inflows and a strengthening rupee, although elevated U.S. bond yields remain a key risk to the sustainability of foreign flows into emerging markets,” Nair said.
Among sectoral indices on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), most sectors ended in positive territory.
The Nifty IT index was the top performer, rising 2.68%, followed by Nifty FMCG, which gained 1.72%. Nifty Metal advanced 1.55%, Nifty Auto climbed 1.48%, Nifty PSU Bank rose 1.41%, Nifty Consumer Durables increased 1.39%, Nifty Oil & Gas gained 0.97%, and Nifty Pharma ended 0.49% higher.
Nifty Media was the only major sectoral index to close lower, declining more than 3%.
Nair said the ongoing first-quarter earnings season has performed better than expected, with small-cap companies outperforming their larger and mid-cap counterparts.
“The Q1FY27 earnings season continues to progress ahead of expectations, with small-cap companies emerging as the strongest performers relative to large- and mid-cap peers. Investors will closely watch the upcoming RBI policy meeting for commentary on inflation risks, liquidity conditions and the future policy trajectory, although interest rates are widely expected to remain unchanged,” he added.
Supporting market sentiment, Brent crude oil prices fell more than 4% to $83.80 per barrel amid easing geopolitical tensions. The Indian rupee was trading at ₹95.33 per U.S. dollar at the time of filing.
Other Asian markets ended mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.13% to close at 63,643, South Korea’s KOSPI fell more than 5% to 6,257, and Singapore’s Straits Times slipped 0.29% to 5,612.
In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.54% to close at 26,026. (ANI)
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