Led by a 11.60% jump in Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) shares following a strong September quarter (Q2FY27) earnings show, Indian equity benchmark indices - BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty - gained about 1.7% each on Monday. The rally also brought festive cheer on Dalal Street as domestic equities extended their winning streak to a third consecutive session despite geopolitical tensions and elevated crude oil prices.
Given that RIL has a heavy index weighting, a large move in its shares substantially influences the broader benchmarks.
Reliance Industries shares ended at Rs 1,300 apiece, up 11.6% as billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate reported late Friday its highest-ever quarterly revenue and a 41% jump in PAT for Q2FY27. RIL’s revenue from operations rose 29% year-on-year to Rs 3.32 lakh crore in the reported quarter while consolidated net profit surged sharply by 41% to Rs 25,548 crore.
"Indian equities opened the week on a firm footing, supported by better-than-estimated Q2 earnings and improving domestic cues. Domestic macro indicators provided an additional boost to sentiment with October passenger-vehicle sales growth reflecting healthy festive demand, while gross GST collections increased, reinforcing the resilience of domestic consumption and economic activity,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments.
Signs of renewed foreign investor interest amid a global selloff in AI stocks further supported sentiment. FIIs turned net buyers of Rs 6,300 crore last week, snapping a ten-week selling streak and buying in three of the five sessions.
While Brent crude prices eased towards $110 per barrel from its recent high of around $118 amid renewed hopes of de-escalation in West Asia, it still remained significantly higher. For an oil-importing economy like India, elevated crude prices increase inflationary pressures, widen the import bill, put pressure on the rupee and squeeze corporate margins.
Ajit Mishra, SVP – Research, Religare Broking said that despite the strong rebound, one or two positive sessions are not enough to confirm a trend reversal and sustaining the recovery will require continued institutional inflows, softer crude prices and broader earnings support.
“However, crude prices remain elevated in absolute terms, and developments on the geopolitical front will continue to influence domestic market sentiment and the broader macroeconomic outlook,” added Mishra.
The broader market also witnessed healthy buying interest, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 1.19% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.71%. On the sectoral front, Energy, Metal, PSU Banks and Auto were the key gainers, while Media, IT and Pharma remained the major laggards.
