D-Street ends volatile trade on a muted note as gains in IT offset by selloff in PSBs

Among the constituents of the Sensex, , , , M&M, and finished in positive territory, whereas , SBI, NTPC, Power Grid, and Bajaj Finance closed with losses.

The PSU Bank index slid 3.7% after the Reserve Bank of India's draft guidelines on project finance proposed lenders set aside higher provisions for under-construction infrastructure projects. Consequently, PNB, Canara Bank, and Bank of Baroda witnessed declines ranging from 4-6%.

On the flip side, Nifty Private Bank closed 0.4% higher, buoyed by a 5% jump in Kotak Mahindra Bank after it beat quarterly profit estimates.

Among individual stocks, Paytm shares closed with a 5% lower circuit after Bhavesh Gupta, Chief Operating Officer and President of One 97 Communications (OCL), resigned from the fintech firm.

Meanwhile, the market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE declined by Rs 2.83 lakh crore to Rs 403.41 lakh crore. The market breadth was skewed in the favour of the bears. About 2,629 stocks declined, 1,292 gained, and 172 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Experts View
"The domestic indices traded in a range-bound manner influenced by PSU banks’ underperformance due to the RBI's tighter norms on lending to projects under development. The broader indices also witnessed major selling pressure due to valuation concerns and profit booking. Investors are closely monitoring this week’s FED speakers for insights on future monetary policy," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Aditya Gaggar, Director of Progressive Shares, said, "The Index has formed a small red candle but on the downside, the zone of 22,330-22,380 will act as a strong support while the higher side seems to be capped at 22,580."

Global Markets
With the UK and Japan on public holidays, markets in mainland China and Europe got off to an upbeat start, with Friday's softer-than-anticipated U.S. jobs report underpinning sentiment by renewing market rate-cut bets.

Europe's broadest stock index rose 0.4% while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures added 0.2% each in a positive sign for the Wall Street open later on.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan peaked at its highest level since February 2023 and last gained 0.57%, while China's blue-chip index closed 1.5% higher.

Oil Climbs
Oil futures climbed on Monday after Saudi Arabia hiked June crude prices for most regions and as the prospect of a Gaza ceasefire deal appeared slim, renewing fears the Israel-Hamas conflict could still widen in the key oil producing region.

Brent crude futures gained 73 cents, or 0.9%, to $83.69 a barrel at 0852 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $78.95 a barrel, up 84 cents, or 1.1%.

Rupee Ends Weaker
The Indian rupee ended lower on Monday as dollar demand from local oil companies and other importers, pressured the local currency even as most of its Asian peers gained.

The rupee closed at 83.4875 against the U.S. dollar, weaker than its previous close at 83.4225.

(With inputs from agencies)
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