Sensex Jumps Over 570 Points, Nifty Tops 24,550 as Crude Oil Retreat Boosts Sentiment

Indian equities started the week on a strong note on Monday, August 3, with easing crude oil prices and improving geopolitical sentiment bringing buyers back to Dalal Street. At around 10:00 AM, the Sensex was up 572.30 points, or 0.73 per cent, at 78,666.94, while the Nifty 50 gained 185.15 points, or 0.76 per cent, to trade at 24,568.75.

Buying was not restricted to frontline stocks. The Nifty Midcap index advanced 0.42 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap index gained 0.54 per cent. Banking shares also traded with a positive bias, with PSU banks showing stronger momentum among financial stocks. Market breadth remained healthy after more than 2,500 stocks advanced on the BSE during early trade.

Sectorally, Nifty FMCG emerged among the strongest performers, gaining more than 1 per cent in early deals. Nifty Metal and Nifty PSU Bank also attracted buying interest. Softer crude prices helped improve the broader macro mood, while PSU lenders benefited from renewed buying interest.

On the other hand, Nifty Media and Nifty Pharma were among the few sectoral pockets trading in the red, indicating that the rally remained selective despite positive overall breadth.

ITC climbed as much as 4.11 per cent to Rs 292.55 after its Q1 performance and resilient cigarette volumes eased some concerns around the impact of higher cigarette Taxes. Brokerages also remained constructive on the company's pricing strategy.

Divi's Laboratories gained around 1.65 per cent after reporting a 65.5 per cent year on year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 902 crore, while revenue increased 27.8 per cent to Rs 3,080 crore.

ideaForge Technology rose as much as 2.73 per cent to Rs 899 after receiving in principle approval for funding of up to Rs 151 crore for its heavy lift autonomous aerial Logistics vehicle project.

Muthoot Finance, however, fell more than 14 per cent as investors reacted to its quarterly numbers and leadership transition, despite standalone Q1 profit rising 25 per cent to Rs 2,550 crore.

The latest available provisional institutional data showed FPIs buying shares worth Rs 277.48 crore, while DIIs purchased Rs 2,260.37 crore on July 30. Monday's institutional flow figures will be available only after today's session.

Global cues turned supportive mainly because of crude oil. Brent crude dropped 4.73 per cent to around USD 83.77 a barrel after hopes of renewed US Iran negotiations eased supply concerns. The Dollar Index slipped 0.15 per cent to 99.76. Wall Street had also finished Friday higher, with the Dow gaining 0.53 per cent, the S&P 500 rising 0.7 per cent and the Nasdaq advancing 1 per cent.

For the Nifty, the 24,600 zone remains the immediate hurdle after the sharp morning rise, while 24,500 will be important for maintaining Intraday momentum. Traders will also track crude oil, developments around US Iran talks, Q1 earnings and Tuesday's Nifty weekly expiry.

The current move reflects improving sentiment, but stock specific earnings reactions are likely to keep individual counters volatile.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.