Auto, metals power Sensex’s 105-point jump; Nifty tops 22,050

Among Sensex stocks, , M&M, , and were the top gainers, rising 2.5-5%. , , , and also ended with gains, while , , Titan, and ended with cuts.

shares closed 2.6% higher following a Rs 3,650-crore order for setting up 300 MW (RE Power) GridConnected wind solar hybrid projects.

DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations shares also closed with 5% gains after the firm secured a contract to supply IT hardware for the Indian Army's drone lab in Jammu and Kashmir.

Sector-wise, Nifty Metal rose 2.5%, led by , Tata Steel, and . Nifty Auto and Media also closed over 1% higher. However, Nifty IT, FMCG, and Banks closed lower.

The small and midcaps lost 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE surged by Rs 35,664 crore to Rs 378.85 lakh crore. The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bulls. About 2,007 stocks gained, 1,933 declined, and 116 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Expert Views

"The Indian market followed the positive Asian peers with a mixed bias. Domestic issues, like mutual fund stress tests, hardly brought any negative views, but premium valuation remains as a concern," said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.

"Both DII & FII inflows are strong for largecaps, hence sustaining their outperformance. Policy actions, this week, from global central banks, the US FED, BOJ, and BOE will dictate the market direction. Indication, by the FED, that rate cut may be probably in the latter half of CY24, should bring a mixed sentiment in the short term," Nair added.

Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, said, "On the upside, a sustained upward movement beyond 22,100 may propel the index towards 22,250 and beyond. Support is established at 21,900, below which the index might decline towards 21,700."

Global Markets

World shares firmed on Monday as Chinese data beat expectations, while investors looked to navigate a minefield of central bank meetings this week that could see the end of free money in Japan and a slower glide path for US rate cuts.

European stocks ticked up 0.1% at the open, rising in parallel with MSCI's broadest index of stocks, which was up 0.2%. Japan's Nikkei closed up 2.7%, while Shanghai's blue chip index finished up about 1%.

Crude Oil

Oil prices ticked up in Asian trade on Monday, extending gains from last week of nearly 4% on the view that supply was tightening, with the risks heightened by further attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.

Brent crude oil futures for May delivery climbed 72 cents, or 0.84%, to $86.06 a barrel. The more active May delivery contract for WTI traded 81 cents, or 1%, higher at $81.38 per barrel.

Rupee Falls

The Indian rupee closed lower on Monday, pressured by weakness in Asian currencies and dollar purchases by state-run banks. The rupee settled at 82.9050 to the US dollar compared with 82.8775 in the previous session. The local unit traded in a 82.83 to 82.9150 band in Monday's session.

(With inputs from agencies)