India's equity markets closed higher on Monday, buoyed by gains in the Power, Real Estate and Public Sector Undertakings sectors. At the close on the National Stock Exchange, the Nifty 50 rose 0.83%. The BSE Sensex 30 finished up 0.79%.
Top movers on the Nifty
The strongest contributors on the Nifty 50 included Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, which advanced 4.68% or 13.45 points to finish at 300.65. Coal India Ltd gained 3.31% or 13.55 points to close at 422.50, while HDFC Bank Ltd was up 2.39% or 21.60 points to settle at 925.50 in late trade.
Lagging names
Not all large-cap names participated in the rally. Hero MotoCorp Ltd declined 1.82% or 101.50 points to end the day at 5,482.50. Tech Mahindra Ltd slipped 1.34% or 20.50 points to close at 1,513.90, and Bajaj Finance Ltd fell 1.15% or 11.75 points to finish at 1,013.00.
BSE action
On the BSE Sensex 30, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd also led gains, rising 4.56% to 300.50. HDFC Bank Ltd added 2.25% to settle at 926.00, and Axis Bank Ltd. gained 1.93% to close at 1,359.50. Among the weakest on the index were Tech Mahindra Ltd, down 1.32% to 1,514.95, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., down 1.13% to 15,055.10, and Bajaj Finance Ltd, down 1.08% to 1,013.00 at the close.
Market breadth and volatility
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on both major exchanges. On the National Stock Exchange, 1,566 stocks fell while 968 advanced and 34 finished unchanged. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, 2,429 declined, 1,624 advanced and 186 were unchanged. The India VIX, the gauge of implied volatility for Nifty 50 options, edged down 0.08% to 13.28.
Commodities and energy
Commodities traded mixed. Gold futures for April delivery slipped 0.42% or 21.44 to $5,024.86 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for April delivery fell 0.24% or 0.15 to $62.60 a barrel, while the April Brent contract decreased 0.19% or 0.13 to $67.62 a barrel.
FX and dollar indicators
Currency moves saw USD/INR climb 0.14% to 90.65, while EUR/INR rose 0.07% to 107.55. The US Dollar Index Futures was higher by 0.09% at 96.91.
Overall, the session was characterized by sector-led gains that lifted headline indices despite a larger number of individual stocks retreating across both exchanges. Volatility was little changed, and commodity and currency markets produced modest, mixed moves into the close.