Sensex, Nifty Snap Losing Streak On Monday, End 0.8% Higher; Sun Pharma, IT Stocks Support Rally

The domestic stock market indices on Monday started the week on a positive note, with a gain of over 0.8 percent each, breaking the three-day losing streak, on the back of strong global cues and improved hopes of de-escalation on the war front.

The benchmark Sensex closed at 77,303 with a rise of 0.83 percent, or 639 points, while Nifty ended with a gain of 0.81 percent to close 194 points higher than Friday’s close.

Out of almost 3,450 stocks traded on the National Stock Exchange, almost 74 percent (2,550 stocks) ended higher than their previous close.

The gains in the indices came after three consecutive sessions of losses last week. While Sensex had lost over 3.2 percent in the previous three days, Nifty had fallen over 2.7 percent during the same period.

Monday’s gains were led by a rally in Sun Pharma stock and a rise in information technology stocks.

Nifty Pharma ended with the strongest gains among the 19 sectoral indices. It closed 2.6 percent higher than the previous close. Nifty Consumer Durables followed with a 2.5 percent rise. Nifty Realty and Nifty Healthcare also jumped 2.4 percent each.

Nifty IT, which lost almost 5 percent in Friday’s session, pared some of the losses with a rise of 2.2 percent.

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, Sun Pharma led the gainers’ chart with a jump of 6.8 percent on the back of positive investor sentiment after the company announced the acquisition of the US-based Organon in a $11.75 billion deal.

Amid the broader buying sentiment, IT stocks also gained. All the IT majors ended in the green, with Tech Mahindra leading with a gain of over 2.9 percent, followed by Wipro (rising 2.8 percent), HCLTech (up 2.2 percent), and Tata Consultancy Services (climbing 2.1 percent).

The turnaround in fortunes on Monday came after investors saw hope on the war front as both the US and Iran lowered their guard to start the long-stalled second peace talks.

This helped Asian markets remain at ease on the first day of the week. While Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.4 percent, South Korea’s Kospi jumped over 2 percent. Taking cues from the Asian markets, domestic indices also gained confidence, which resulted in a decline in the India VIX, the market volatility index, on Monday.