Sensex, Nifty gap up on Iran diplomacy, crude slide; financials lead, pharma drags
Sensex, which closed at 78,094.64 on Friday, opened at 78,883.34; the Nifty 50, which ended the previous session at 24,383.60, opened at 24,572.70
Stock markets in India witnessed a sharp rise on Monday, August 3, 2026, as tensions eased in the Middle East and crude oil prices declined, bolstering investor confidence across financial and consumer sectors. The Sensex opened at 78,883.34, trading 0.65 percent higher at 78,601.92, while the Nifty 50 began the day at 24,572.70, edging up 0.64 percent to 24,540.25.
The trigger for the market's upstart was the US President Donald Trump's decision to call off a military strike on Iran, paving the way for diplomatic talks aimed at reopening the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.
The drop in Brent crude oil prices below $84 per barrel and a narrow range of WTI crude trading between $80–81 per barrel offered significant relief to India's import bill and inflation outlook. Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, highlighted the favorable setup for continued upside, citing declining Brent crude, good monsoon progress in July, and FII inflows as significant triggers.
Among the top gainers on the Nifty 50 were Bajaj Finance (2.94 percent rise), Shriram Finance (2.70 percent rise), and Bajaj Finserv (2.69 percent rise), while IndiGo and ITC also saw gains of 2.66 percent and 2.03 percent, respectively.
The financial services sector led the morning's gains, with Dr. Vijayakumar attributing this to better-than-expected credit growth and sustaining auto sales numbers as positive indicators for the economy. On the downside, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries led the decliners with a 2.36 percent fall, followed by Maruti Suzuki (2.11 percent drop) and Cipla (0.51 percent decline). ONGC and Bajaj Auto also experienced slight declines of 0.43 percent and 0.39 percent, respectively.
Analysts noted that the Nifty 50 had moved decisively above its 20-day Simple Moving Average, creating a key support level at 24,130 on the Nifty and 77,300 on the Sensex. Immediate resistance was flagged at 24,500–24,600, with a potential breakout beyond 24,600 leading to further gains towards 24,800–25,000. However, a close below 24,200 could weaken the current uptrend, pushing the index towards the 24,000–23,800 range.
Market participants are also closely monitoring the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee decision expected on Wednesday, with expectations for rates to remain unchanged.
Written by urgent.news from Hindu BusinessLine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
