Sensex, Nifty extend gains; investor wealth swells over Rs 11 lakh crore in four sessions, what's ahead?

Indian equity benchmarks extended their winning streak for the fourth consecutive session on Monday, supported by easing crude oil prices, encouraging quarterly earnings and sustained buying in financial heavyweights.

The 30-share BSE Sensex pack advanced 544.39 points or 0.70 per cent to settle at 78,639.03. The broader NSE Nifty50 index climbed 390.70 points or 1.60 per cent to close at 24,774.30.

Sectoral participation remained firmly positive, with IT, banking and FMCG leading the gains. Pharma stocks, however, witnessed profit booking following their recent rally and the latest June quarter (Q1 FY27) earnings announcements.

The broader market also remained strong, with both midcap and smallcap indices rising over 1 per cent, reflecting healthy market breadth and improving investor sentiment.

The rally significantly boosted investor wealth. The combined market capitalisation (m-cap) of BSE-listed companies rose by around Rs 4.58 lakh crore during the session to Rs 490.55 lakh crore from Rs 485.96 lakh crore in the previous session. Over the past four trading sessions, investors have added nearly Rs 11.38 lakh crore in notional wealth.

Among the top Sensex gainers were Infosys Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T), Axis Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, Eternal Ltd, ITC Ltd, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd (IndiGo's parent), HDFC Bank Ltd and State Bank of India (SBI).

Ajit Mishra, SVP (Research) at Religare Broking, said, "Investor sentiment improved after Brent crude prices declined sharply by nearly 5 per cent following renewed optimism over diplomatic talks involving the US and Iran. Encouraging quarterly earnings from several companies, resilient auto sales data, and continued strength in the rupee further supported risk appetite. However, market participants remain watchful ahead of the RBI's monetary policy meeting and further developments on the global geopolitical front."

Ankur Punj, MD & Business Head at Equirus Wealth, said domestic benchmarks maintained buoyancy throughout the session due to broad-based buying support despite mixed trends across Asian markets. "Sentiment received a major boost from reports that the US halted military action against Iran, causing oil prices to fall sharply as the Strait of Hormuz opened for swift movement of stranded ships," he added.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, said the positive momentum was also aided by a rebound in foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows and a strengthening rupee. However, he cautioned that elevated US bond yields remain a key risk to the sustainability of foreign flows into emerging markets.

Nifty outlook

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said, "The index has rebounded after nearly two months of consolidation. From here, two scenarios are possible. The first is that Nifty faces resistance near 24,400, allowing the recent sharp rally to cool off. Alternatively, if the index manages to break and sustain above 24,800, it could trigger follow-up buying and extend the rally towards the 25,000–25,350 range."