Reliance Industries’ strongest single-day gain since April 2020 helped Indian markets finish higher on Monday. The BSE Sensex closed at 75,692, while the Nifty50 settled at 23,440.80. Ajit Mishra said, “Markets staged a rally on Monday, extending their recovery as favourable global cues and easing crude oil prices lifted investor sentiment.”
Reliance Industries’ strongest single-day gain since April 2020 handed Indian markets their third straight winning session on Monday, with crude oil’s retreat from a six-month high adding fuel to a rally that stretched across metals, energy and auto stocks.
The BSE Sensex closed at 75,692, up 1,232.47 points or 1.66 per cent from its previous close of 74,459.53. The Nifty50 settled at 23,440.80, gaining 387.70 points or 1.68 per cent from 23,053.10. The Nifty Midcap 100 rose 1.19 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gained 0.71 per cent, with BSE market breadth firmly positive at an advances-declines ratio of 1.83. Among Nifty500 stocks, 391 closed higher against 105 declines. Thirty-four of 38 sectoral indices ended in the green.
“Markets staged a rally on Monday, extending their recovery as favourable global cues, easing crude oil prices and encouraging corporate earnings lifted investor sentiment,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research at Religare Broking. “Sustaining the recovery will require continued institutional inflows, softer crude prices and broader earnings support.”
Reliance Industries surged 11.60 per cent, its best day since April 2020, after better-than-expected second-quarter results, contributing the most to the Nifty’s gain given its heavy index weight. Tata Steel and JSW Steel also featured among the top gainers as metal stocks caught a bid on easing input cost expectations. Nifty Oil & Gas soared nearly 6 per cent, the sharpest sectoral advance of the session. Nifty Metal added 3.2 per cent, Nifty Auto gained 1.3 per cent on strong October sales, and PSU Banks rose 1.36 per cent. On the other side, Infosys, ICICI Bank and Dr Reddy’s ended as top Nifty losers. Nifty IT fell 0.9 per cent and Nifty Media declined 0.76 per cent, the only two major sectors to close in negative territory. Private banks slipped 0.14 per cent.
The macro backdrop was supportive. Brent crude declined roughly 4 per cent to around $108 a barrel from last week’s high of $118, as Iranian and Qatari officials held a third consecutive day of diplomatic discussions aimed at de-escalating the US–Iran conflict. WTI fell to near $98 a barrel. Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, pointed to a separate domestic catalyst: October GST collections surged 23 per cent year-on-year to ₹2.31 lakh crore, the fastest growth in over four years, reinforcing confidence in the domestic consumption story.
On the earnings front, the season has surprised positively. Among MOFSL Universe companies, sales, EBITDA and PAT grew 26 per cent, 24 per cent and 33 per cent year-on-year respectively against estimates of 19 per cent, 14 per cent and 19 per cent, the strongest earnings growth in 12 quarters. Among the 35 Nifty companies that have reported so far, earnings grew 22 per cent against a 20 per cent estimate. Financials, metals and oil & gas contributed 78 per cent of incremental earnings. Nifty EPS estimates for FY27 and FY28 have consequently been revised upward to ₹1,247 and ₹1,428, implying growth of 17 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. Results from Delhivery, Bank of Baroda and Indian Oil also came in positively on Monday.
The Indian rupee appreciated to around 94.70–94.90 per dollar, supported by the crude pullback and a softer dollar ahead of Tuesday’s US midterm elections. “Persistent geopolitical worries encouraged bargain buyers to step in at lower levels,” noted Dilip Parmar, Senior Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, who placed immediate spot USD/INR support at 94.70 and resistance at 95.80.
Gold remained subdued, with MCX Gold near ₹1,38,300 and COMEX Gold around $3,900. “Market participants remain cautious, with volatility likely to persist as they assess the outlook for US monetary policy,” said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities, adding that domestic gold prices are likely to stay within ₹1,36,500–₹1,41,000 this week. Key US labour market data, ADP Non-Farm Employment Change, Non-Farm Payrolls and unemployment figures, are due later this week and will be closely watched for signals on the Federal Reserve’s rate trajectory.
Looking ahead, Tuesday brings quarterly results from SBI, NSE, Bajaj Finserv, Solar Industries and Bajaj Holdings. The US midterm election outcome is the dominant global event risk and could trigger volatility across currencies, crude and equities. “One or two positive sessions are not enough to confirm a trend reversal,” Mishra cautioned, while Khemka noted that “Indian markets are likely to remain constructive in the near term, as long as crude oil prices remain contained.”