Stock Market Today, August 3: The Indian equity market extended their gains in late morning trade on Monday, supported by strong buying across financials, IT, FMCG and broader market stocks amid easing
crude oil prices and improving investor sentiment.
At 11:08 am, the BSE Sensex was trading 675.57 points, or 0.87%, higher at 78,770.21, while the NSE Nifty climbed 214.85 points, or 0.88%, to 24,598.45, after touching an intraday high of 24,602.55. The index continued to trade comfortably above the key 24,500 level.
The rally remained broad-based across the market. The Nifty Bank gained 1.00%, while the Nifty Financial Services advanced 1.11%. The Nifty 500 rose 0.97%, the Nifty Midcap 100 added 0.98%, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 climbed 1.22%. The Nifty Smallcap 250 surged 1.40%, while the Nifty Microcap 250 rallied 1.57%, reflecting strong participation in the broader market.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty PSU Bank led the gains with a rise of 1.84%, followed by Nifty Cement (+1.77%), Nifty FMCG (+1.44%), Nifty IT (+1.33%), Nifty Financial Services ex-Bank (+1.29%), Nifty Chemicals (+1.29%) and Nifty Metal (+0.93%). Nifty Media remained the lone major laggard, falling 1.87%.
On the Sensex, IndiGo emerged as the top gainer, soaring 3.98%, followed by ITC (+2.99%), TCS (+2.63%), Infosys (+2.47%), Bajaj Finance (+2.17%) and SBI (+1.98%). Financial heavyweights including Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank also traded firmly in positive territory. On the downside, Sun Pharma fell 1.38%, Bharti Airtel declined 0.96%, Maruti Suzuki slipped 0.77%, while Tech Mahindra and NTPC also traded lower.
V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, said, “The market is set for a breakout above 24500 Nifty and has the potential to sustain above that level. The decline in Brent crude to below $84, the good progress in monsoon in July and FIIs turning buyers are positive triggers for the market. A significant trend in the economy is that growth has been resilient despite the many headwinds which the economy has been facing. The fiscal and monetary stimulus given in 2025 is acting with a lag to sustain the growth momentum in the economy.”
He added that the better-than-expected credit growth, now running above 18%, and the sustaining growth in auto sales numbers are good indicators of the growth momentum in the economy. The Q1 results declared so far also have surprised a bit on the upside. If this trend sustains, FY 27 earnings growth can be better than initial expectations.
“Good inflows through the FCNR (B), ECB and OFCB routes have contributed to stabilising the rupee, which, in turn, is facilitating an FII comeback. In brief, it is advantage bulls,” Vijayakumar said.
Brent crude on Monday fell about 5% on rising hopes of peace in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran would happen on Monday but declined to set a deadline for an agreement. He had earlier called off a planned attack on Iran in the hope of quickly reaching a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resolve the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.
The prospect of a breakthrough pushed Brent crude futures down to three-week low of $81.55 per barrel. Lower oil prices are positive for India, which imports the bulk of its energy needs.
The Nifty and the Sensex gained more than 2% in July, their second consecutive monthly rise, as resilient corporate earnings and foreign inflows helped offset volatility in crude prices driven by Middle East tensions.
Asian stock markets wobbled on Monday, with South Korea and Japan dropping about 4% and 2%, respectively, while the Japanese yen jumped suddenly after the US and Japan confirmed joint intervention to prop up the frail currency.
Back home, market focus this week will be on the Reserve Bank of India’s policy decision, scheduled for August 5. The central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, diverging from many of its global peers as inflation remains modest despite higher global oil prices.
