Indian Markets Open Higher; Auto & Metal Stocks Lead

The Indian equities market opened higher on Monday, with both the Sensex and Nifty rising in early trade.

By 9:29 AM, the Sensex was up by over 220 points to trade at 80,821, while the Nifty climbed by 82 points to reach 24,647.

The positive momentum came on the back of gains in key sectors, particularly auto and metal, which were the top performers during the opening session.

Auto and metal indices led the early rally, posting gains of nearly 1 per cent each.

The Nifty Bank index also saw a marginal rise to trade around 55,688 points.

Midcap and smallcap stocks witnessed fresh buying, with the Nifty Midcap 100 advancing by 0.44 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.39 per cent.

Sectoral indices remained largely positive, although the IT sector continued to face pressure, extending losses from previous sessions.

On the technical front, the Nifty breached its 100-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), suggesting underlying strength.

Analysts observed that the next major support lies at the 200-day EMA around 24,180, followed by a psychological support level near 24,000.

If the index manages to move past the 24,750 mark, a short-term uptrend towards the 25,250–25,500 range could be triggered.

However, visible resistance at key option levels and overall market volatility may continue to cap upside movements.

Top Gainers and Laggards

Among the top gainers in early trade were Bharat Electronics, Grasim Industries, Tata Steel, and Shriram Finance.

These companies saw renewed investor interest, contributing significantly to the market’s upward movement.

On the other hand, IT giants such as Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Technologies were among the day’s top laggards, as the sector remained under pressure due to global tech sentiment and muted earnings expectations.

Global cues played a mixed role in shaping investor sentiment. US markets closed sharply lower on Friday following disappointing jobs data and new tariff announcements.

The Dow Jones fell by over 1 per cent, the S&P 500 declined by 1.6 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 2.24 per cent.

These movements sparked speculation about a possible interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in the coming month.

Asian markets opened with mixed results on Monday morning, with gains seen in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Seoul, while Japan’s Nikkei posted a sharp decline.

Foreign institutional investors continued to pull out funds, marking their tenth consecutive session of selling by offloading equities worth ₹3,366 crore on August 1.

Conversely, domestic institutional investors provided strong support, buying stocks worth ₹3,186 crore for the twentieth session in a row.

Market analysts believe that while domestic support remains firm, a clear direction will likely emerge only after key developments around upcoming US–India trade negotiations.

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