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Indian equity markets ended lower on Monday as investors booked profits and remained cautious over the sustainability of the interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran.
The Nifty 50 index closed at 23,946.25, down 109.75 points or 0.46 per cent. The BSE Sensex also settled in the red at 76,728.37, declining 372.10 points or 0.48 per cent. According to market experts, investors remained cautious amid geopolitical developments and concerns over the upcoming earnings season. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said, "Profit booking persisted near key psychological levels as investors remained cautious about the sustainability of the interim US-Iran peace agreement. The market currently lacks clear near-term direction, with expectations for the Q1FY27 earnings season remaining subdued amid supply constraints, persistent inflationary pressures, and a weak monsoon outlook, all of which are likely to weigh on margins." He added that selling was broad-based across sectors, although defensive segments such as pharma and healthcare outperformed due to their stable demand outlook and earnings visibility. Among sectoral indices on the NSE, only Nifty Pharma and Nifty Metal managed to close higher. Nifty Pharma gained 1.03 per cent, while Nifty Metal rose 0.80 per cent. All other major sectoral indices ended in the red. Nifty Auto fell 2 per cent, Nifty IT declined 1.07 per cent, Nifty FMCG slipped 0.59 per cent, Nifty Media lost 1.32 per cent and Nifty PSU Bank dropped 0.95 per cent. Nair also said investors were awaiting the upcoming US nonfarm payrolls data, which could influence the US Federal Reserve's policy outlook and expectations regarding future interest rate hikes. In the commodities market, gold prices declined 0.96 per cent to Rs 1,42,762 per 10 grams for 24-karat gold at the time of filing this report. Silver prices also corrected by 1.27 per cent to Rs 2,18,599 per kilogram. The Indian rupee was trading at 94.54 against the US dollar. Among the top gainers in the Nifty 50 index were Max Healthcare, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Coal India, Eternal, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Trent, SBI Life Insurance, Power Grid and Hindalco. The top losers included Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Enterprises, Tata Motors and InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo). Brent crude oil prices rose 1.54 per cent to USD 73.10 per barrel on Monday amid fresh tensions involving the United States and Iran, although markets did not witness any sharp spike in oil prices. In Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 1.38 per cent, Taiwan's weighted index rose 0.95 per cent, Singapore's Straits Times advanced 0.33 per cent and Japan's Nikkei 225 edged up 0.03 per cent. South Korea's KOSPI index, however, declined 0.20 per cent. (ANI)
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