Markets surge in early trade; Sensex jumps 562 points
Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty surged in early trade on Monday following news that India has become the fourth largest economy in the world. Moreover, early arrival of monsoon, the Reserve Bank announcing a record Rs 2.69 lakh crore dividend to the government for FY25 and US President Donald Trump delaying 50 per cent EU tariffs to July 9 also added to the optimism of the market, experts said.
The 30-share BSE benchmark gauge Sensex jumped 562.31 points to 82,283.39 in early trade. The NSE Nifty climbed 175.7 points to 25,028.85. From the Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Titan, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Power Grid and Bajaj Finserv were the biggest gainers. Eternal emerged as the only laggard from the 30-share pack. India has become the fourth largest economy in the world, overtaking Japan, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam has said. "News of India becoming the fourth largest economy in the world would be a near-term morale boost for the market. RBI's bumper dividend payment to the government, exceeding the budget estimates, will help contain the fiscal deficit target for FY26 at 4.4 per cent. This, in turn, can sustain the low inflation and declining interest rate trend which will continue to support the equity market," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said. The Reserve Bank on Friday announced a record Rs 2.69 lakh crore dividend to the government for FY25, 27.4 per cent higher than 2023-24, helping the exchequer to tide over challenges posed by US tariffs and increased spending on defence due to the conflict with Pakistan.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 index were trading in the positive territory while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng quoted lower. US markets ended lower on Friday. "As we start the week, Wall Street remains shut on Monday for Memorial Day. US stock futures are up after President Trump delayed 50 per cent EU tariffs to July 9," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, said. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,794.59 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. The southwest monsoon hit Kerala on Saturday, marking its earliest arrival over the Indian mainland since 2009 when it reached the southern state on May 23, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. "Domestically, Indian markets have shown greater resilience compared to global counterparts, supported by strong macroeconomic data and FIIs, who were net buyers to the tune of nearly Rs 2,000 crore on Friday," Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities, said.
Early arrival of monsoon—eight days ahead of schedule and the earliest in 16 years—along with falling US Dollar Index to a 1-month low at below 99 and a solid macroeconomic backdrop, are likely to boost investor confidence, he added. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.32 per cent to USD 64.99 a barrel. On Friday, the 30-share BSE benchmark surged 769.09 points or 0.95 per cent to settle at 81,721.08. The Nifty rallied 243.45 points or 0.99 per cent to 24,853.15.
