Strong Q2 earnings, domestic investors buoy markets on Monday
The Sensex and Nifty opened higher on Monday, supported by buying in major stocks. Strong Q2 results from several companies helped lift market sentiment.
Equity markets opened higher on Monday as investors bought major stocks and reacted to strong second-quarter results.
The BSE Sensex rose 234.42 points, or 0.28%, to 84,797.20 in early trade, while the NSE Nifty gained 56.10 points, or 0.22%, to reach 25,966.15.
Several Sensex-listed companies were trading with gains. These included Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI, Titan, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Bharat Electronics Ltd, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Bajaj Finserv.
In contrast, shares of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, PowerGrid, and Trent were among the top losers.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said Q2 numbers so far showed an improvement in earnings. “Net profits have increased by 10.8%, the strongest in six quarters,” he noted.
He added that results have come in better than expected, and current demand trends point to further gains in the third quarter. Vijayakumar said discretionary spending, especially in the automobile segment, is likely to drive earnings growth in Q3.
Most Asian markets were trading lower, with Japan, China and Hong Kong in the red, while South Korea’s Kospi was the only major index showing gains.
US markets closed largely lower on Friday. “The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 recovered from intraday lows and briefly turned positive before ending the session almost flat,” said Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities.
Brent crude prices slipped 0.87% to $63.83 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors continued selling for the fifth straight day, offloading equities worth Rs 4,968.22 crore on Friday. Domestic institutional investors, however, maintained strong buying, picking up shares worth Rs 8,461.47 crore, according to exchange data.
Vijayakumar also pointed out that consistent FII selling has prevented the indices from hitting and sustaining new highs. He said a shift in FII activity, along with steady earnings improvement expected from Q3, will be important for the next leg of the rally. He added that a slowdown in the global AI-driven market trend could also support Indian equities.
On Friday, the Sensex had closed 84.11 points higher at 84,562.78, and the Nifty had ended 30.90 points up at 25,910.05.
(With inputs from PTI)