Indian stock markets gave up their early gains on Monday, with Sensex falling about 201 points and Nifty slipping below 25,000, as investors took profits after a sharp rally over the past week. The benchmarks had opened higher, with Sensex up 328 points at the start, but they turned negative as the session went on, dragged down by information technology stocks.
A strong open that faded
The BSE Sensex opened 327.89 points higher at 81,327.29, while the Nifty 50 gained 90 points to begin trading at 25,076.40. Both benchmarks then moved into negative territory as selling picked up through the day. By the close, Sensex settled at 80,798.69, down 200.71 points, or 0.25 percent. Nifty ended below the 25,000 mark. The fall came after a run in which the benchmarks had gained more than 10 percent over seven sessions through Friday, supported by foreign buying, lower crude oil prices and improving corporate earnings. The Nifty rose 8.58 percent in the first week of November alone, according to market data. That kind of gain in a single week is rare, and it left the market open to a pause as investors locked in profits.
IT stocks drag, banks and pharma rise
Information technology stocks were the worst hit on Monday. The Nifty IT index was the only sectoral index to open in negative territory, slipping 0.38 percent, and IT names including HCL Tech, Infosys and TCS were among the day's losers. The fall in IT came as global AI-linked stocks corrected, which hit Indian technology shares too. Banking stocks performed better. Nifty Private Bank rose 0.62 percent at the open, while Nifty PSU Bank gained 0.60 percent. Pharma shares and public sector bank shares were also higher, which limited the fall in the broader market. Nifty Metal advanced 0.26 percent, while auto and FMCG shares recorded gains of 0.10 percent each. Media and realty indices opened 0.08 percent higher. The broader market was mixed, with the Nifty 100 up 0.33 percent and the Nifty Midcap 100 up 0.06 percent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 0.08 percent.
Foreign buying stays strong
Foreign investors have been the main force behind the rally. Foreign portfolio investors have bought Indian shares worth more than 4.1 billion dollars so far in November, their largest monthly inflow since September 2024, according to market data. VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, said the rally was driven by renewed foreign buying, more attractive valuations, falling crude oil prices, lower US bond yields and stronger corporate earnings in the September quarter. He said the retreat from AI stocks in overseas markets has made Indian equities more attractive to some foreign investors, particularly large companies whose valuations had become relatively favourable. Vijayakumar expects foreign buying to continue, with large-cap stocks likely to benefit because international investors generally allocate funds according to index weights during major portfolio shifts. The market's near-term direction will depend partly on whether foreign investors maintain their buying and whether corporate earnings continue to support valuations.
Gold, silver and oil
Brent crude oil was trading around 98 dollars a barrel on Monday, lower than recent highs. The fall in oil prices has helped Indian markets, because India imports most of its crude, and cheaper oil eases inflation and the trade deficit. In precious metals, 24-carat gold rose about 0.9 percent to Rs 1,43,880 per 10 grams, while silver gained 1.76 percent to Rs 1,88,350 per kilogram. Most Asian markets traded higher in the morning, with Japan's Nikkei 225 up more than 3.2 percent to 59,302, Taiwan's index up 5.66 percent to 41,941, and South Korea's KOSPI up 1.62 percent to 5,146. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.05 percent, while Singapore's Straits Times fell 2.26 percent. Investors will watch inflation data from India, the United States and China this week, along with further corporate results and developments in the US-Iran situation, for cues on where markets go next.
