(Reuters) -Indian shares added to gains on Monday, lifted by the central bank’s bumper monetary policy measures and signs of progress in U.S. tariff negotiations with its key trading partners.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.4% to 25,103.2, an eight-month high, while the BSE Sensex gained 0.31% to 82,445.21.
Twelve of the 13 major sectors advanced. High-weightage financials gained about 0.5%, while private banks and state-owned banks added 1% and 1.5%.
The broader small- and mid-caps rose about 1.6% and 1.1%, respectively, with the small-caps turning positive for 2025 so far.
“The market’s positive movement reflects investor confidence, stemming from strong economic indicators, RBI’s unexpected policy support,” said Dharan Shah, Founder, Tradonomy.AI – a research driven AI powered investment platform.
Both the Nifty 50 and Sensex jumped about 1% each on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India cut the repo rate by a bigger-than-expected 50 basis points and lowered the cash reserve ratio by 100 bps.
Other Asian markets advanced on the day, ahead of the U.S.-China talks in London aimed at mending a trade rift between the world’s largest economies. [MKS/GLOB]
Progress in U.S.-India trade talks also lifted investor spirit, as both countries seeked consensus on tariff cuts before a July 9 deadline, Indian government sources said.
Renewed optimism over global trade has triggered another wave of buying in Indian equities, according to analysts.
IT companies, which earn a significant share of revenue from the U.S., rose 1% as a robust U.S. jobs report on Friday also eased concerns over an economic slowdown.
Among individual stocks, gold loan financiers such as Manappuram Finance and Muthoot Finance gained 7% and 4%, respectively, after the RBI eased gold loan rules.
Bajaj Finance and Cholamandalam Investment rose 2.5% and 3.2% after multiple brokerages saw the RBI rate cut and CRR cut boosting non-bank lenders.
($1 = 85.6525 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Sumana Nandy)