Reliance's 11.6% surge powers Sensex to near two-month high
Reliance Industries posted its best trading day since April 2020 on Monday, surging 11.6% after quarterly profit beat expectations and accounting for half of the Nifty 50's gains as the Sensex closed at a near two-month high.
The Nifty 50 added 1.68% to 23,440.8 and the BSE Sensex rose 1.66% to 75,692.78, their third straight session of gains, up 3.3% over that stretch. VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, said the conglomerate's weak run this year had amplified the rebound: "The underperformance in Reliance's shares so far this year has amplified the gains in the stock today after robust quarterly earnings." Despite the day's gains, Reliance remains down 17.2% in 2026.
Two other forces helped. Brent crude fell to $109 a barrel from a six-month high of $118 on Friday, as Iranian and Qatari officials held a third consecutive day of talks aimed at ending the US-Israeli war on Iran. Separately, India's markets regulator has recommended removing long-term capital gains tax for foreign investors, and for domestic mutual fund investors who sell existing funds to buy new ones, according to Token Times.
Thirteen of 16 major sectors gained. Auto stocks rose 1.3%, with Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle up 2.4% and 2.6% on optimism over monthly sales, while IT stocks slipped 0.5% as investors paused after a nearly 18% surge last month. Small-caps added 0.7% and mid-caps 1.2%. Vijayakumar pointed to resilient Goods and Services Tax collection, loan growth and auto sales as further support.
