Nifty and Sensex jump over 1% as Brent retreats from six-month high
India's benchmark indices rose more than 1% on Monday as a pullback in crude oil and a forecast-beating profit at Reliance Industries lifted sentiment, with the Nifty 50 opening 0.71% higher at 23,215.85 and the Sensex gaining 0.88% to 75,113.01 before extending those gains through the session.
Brent crude fell about 3.2% to $109.75 a barrel by 0407 GMT, down $3.68, after touching a six-month high of $118 on Friday, while US West Texas Intermediate dropped 3.3% to $100.69. The retreat came as Iranian and Qatari officials held talks for a third consecutive day to push for an agreement to end the US-Israeli war on Iran, easing fears of a supply disruption that had pushed prices to their highest level in six months.
Reliance Industries was the session's biggest driver, with its shares up 6% at ₹1,232.50 by 9:34 AM IST and on course for their largest single-day gain since January 2024. The conglomerate led by Mukesh Ambani reported a 40.6% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to ₹25,548 crore for the September quarter, against analyst estimates of ₹21,419 crore, helped by stronger refining and petrochemical margins and steady growth at its Jio telecom arm.
Dr V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, said domestic indicators were also supporting the rally, citing credit growth of 17.94% and a 22.9% rise in GST collections, and pointed to expectations that the upcoming Union Budget could overhaul the long-term capital gains tax regime, possibly abolishing it. He argued the unwinding of the AI trade, which dragged the Nasdaq down 2.8% on Friday, may matter more for India than the external cues, since the country is widely viewed as a counter-AI investment play. "For now, it is advantage bulls," he said.
