Heavyweights lift Nifty above 23,400; Sensex jumps 564 points

Indian benchmark indices ended higher on Monday, with the Nifty 50 gaining 67.90 points, or 0.29%, to 23,414.30, marking its fourth straight session of gains. The index also managed to finish above the 23,400 mark.

The Sensex jumped 564.03 points, or around 0.76%, to settle at 74,858.99, supported by gains in several heavyweight stocks. The broader market, however, remained weaker, with both mid- and small-cap indices ending in the red.

Heavyweights drive Nifty gains

Among Nifty stocks, Eternal was the top gainer, rising 2.77%, followed by HCLTech, which gained 2.54%. ITC rose 1.79%, while Sun Pharma added 1.72%.

Heavyweights Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank also contributed to the index's gains, rising 1.71% and 1.16%, respectively. TCS advanced 1.13%, while Max Healthcare, Titan and HDFC Life also ended higher.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel was the biggest Nifty laggard, falling 3.33%. Adani Ports declined 2.02%, while Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Adani Enterprises, Wipro and Infosys were among other major losers.

Pharma shines, broader market under pressure

Sectorally, Nifty Pharma emerged as one of the strongest performers, rising 1.16%. The rally came despite weakness in some pharma counters following regulatory developments.

Nifty FMCG gained 0.95%, while Nifty Realty advanced 1.14%. Nifty Bank rose 0.20%, led by gains in private lenders, while the Nifty Auto index edged up 0.08%.

IT stocks remained mixed, with Nifty IT declining 0.08%. Metal stocks were also under pressure, with Nifty Metal falling 0.61%.

The broader market failed to match the benchmark gains. Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.29% to 62,013.10, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 0.07%.

Among individual stocks outside the benchmark, Patanjali Foods surged nearly 8% following positive commentary, while Cohance also rose more than 5% despite observations for its API unit by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Capital-market stocks ended lower, with BSE Ltd falling nearly 3% and OFSS declining more than 8% amid concerns related to the debt position of its parent company.

The rupee gained 15 paise to close provisionally at ₹95.81 against the US dollar on Monday.

Meanwhile, stocks such as Voltas and Blue Star gained up to 3% after the India Meteorological Department's rain-deficit forecast, while Welspun Corp, Refex and Tega Industries rose on order-win related developments. Tega Industries also touched a 52-week high during the session.