The Indian stock markets showed resilience on Monday amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, as investors maintained their focus on long-term fundamentals in the time of volatile situations. Both Sensex and Nifty ended the day with sharp gains of nearly 1 per cent each showing that investors remained optimistic despite the geopolitical uncertainty.
The Sensex jumped 677.55 points or 0.84 per cent to close at 81,796.15, after touching an intra-day high of 81,865.82. Similarly, the Nifty gained 227.9 points or 0.92 per cent to settle at 24,946.50.
"The index witnessed a sharp rally as it reclaimed the 21-EMA after a brief dip below it," said Rupak De of LKP Securities. Currently, with investors awaiting the Fed's follow-up commentary post the rate announcement, a steep directional move is not expected for now, he added.
“However, a rally towards 25,350 looks highly probable once Nifty reclaims the 25,000 mark. On the downside, support is placed at 24,850," De mentioned. The broader markets also performed well. The Nifty Midcap100 rose by 0.93 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap100 gained 0.95 per cent.
All sectoral indices ended in the green. The Nifty IT index was the biggest gainer, rising 1.57 per cent, followed by Realty (1.32 per cent), Oil and Gas (1.11 per cent), and Metal (1.07 per cent). Other sectors like banking, energy, FMCG, pharma and media also closed higher reflecting broad-based buying across the market.
Among the major gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, TCS, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Infosys, with some of them rising up to 2.4 per cent. However, on the flip side, Tata Motors was the top loser, falling by 3.76 per cent. Sun Pharma also ended lower.
Meanwhile, the India VIX, known as the market's "fear index" which measures expected volatility, fell by 1.6 per cent to settle at 14.83. A drop in VIX indicates a calmer market outlook in the short term.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said that despite ongoing geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran, the market moved higher, supported by gains in large-cap stocks.
"Geopolitical developments in the Middle East are likely to influence near-term market sentiment, with any signs of de-escalation being closely monitored. Small-cap stocks are expected to underperform in the short term, given their elevated valuations and absence of short-term triggers," he mentioned.