Auto and Banking Stocks Lead Market Rally, Eicher Motors Sees 5% Gain

Market Sentiment Boosted by Easing Crude Oil Prices and Positive Global Cues

Indian benchmark indices opened sharply higher on Monday, driven by strong buying in automobile, banking and financial stocks. The Nifty Auto index emerged as the top sectoral gainer, rising over 2 percent. Other sectors such as Nifty Bank, Nifty Private Bank, and Nifty PSU Bank indices also gained significantly, with each increasing by over 1.5 percent.

At around 9:20 am, the Sensex was up 835.81 points or 1.11 percent at 76,251.16, while the Nifty gained 248 points or 1.05 percent to 23,967.30. Market breadth remained firmly positive, with 2,089 stocks advancing against 713 declines.

Automobile stocks led the rally, with the Nifty Auto index climbing 2.16 percent. Eicher Motors surged 5.3 percent to emerge as the top gainer on the Nifty 50, while Mahindra & Mahindra rose 2.5 percent and Bajaj Auto gained about 2 percent. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles also advanced nearly 2 percent.

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Banking and financial stocks provided significant support to benchmark indices. Nifty Bank rose 1.53 percent, while the Nifty Private Bank index gained 1.47 percent. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Bajaj Finance were the three largest contributors to Nifty gains, collectively accounting for nearly 70 points of the index's advance. HDFC Bank rose 1.8 percent, ICICI Bank gained 1.5 percent, and Bajaj Finance climbed 2.3 percent.

Other sectors participating in the rally included realty, PSU banks, and oil & gas. The Nifty Realty index gained 1.23 percent, Nifty PSU Bank rose 1.54 percent, and the Oil & Gas index advanced 1.12 percent. Broader markets also traded firmly higher, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 1.09 percent and the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 0.7 percent.

The rally came amid a sharp fall in global crude oil prices, with Brent crude dropping below $100 per barrel on hopes of progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations. Lower oil prices are viewed as supportive for India's inflation outlook, corporate margins, and the rupee, helping improve overall market sentiment.

Read also: US-Iran Tensions Spark Uptick in Oil Prices Amid Global Market Decline

On the other hand, IT stocks underperformed the broader market. The Nifty IT index slipped marginally, with TCS and Infosys among the few Nifty constituents trading in the red. Hindalco was the biggest drag on the benchmark, falling 1.8 percent, while ONGC also traded lower despite the broader market rally.

The decline in India VIX by more than 4 percent further reflected improving risk appetite, as investors rotated into cyclical sectors such as autos, banks, and financials at the start of the trading week.