Titan surges 2.78%, SBI drags; Nifty clings to gains amid geopolitical jitters

On Monday, benchmark indices traded slightly higher in the afternoon session, recovering from early losses. The Nifty 50 reached 24,576.45, up 5.80 points or 0.02%, while the Sensex stood at 78,511.67, gaining 12.50 points or 0.02%. The trading remained range-bound, with early gains followed by selling pressure before indices regained flat territory.

Titan Company led the gainers' list, surging by 2.78% to ₹5,078.20, which was its intraday high of ₹5,122.20. Diversified conglomerate Grasim Industries rose 2.03% to ₹3,390.50, while Tata Steel advanced 1.75% to ₹190.83, with heavy trading volumes of over 2.18 crore shares. Tata Consumer Products gained 1.48% to ₹1,098.30, and Shriram Finance added 1.32% to ₹1,129.70.

State Bank of India was the worst performer among the index components, falling 1.97% to ₹1,075.60. The decline was attributed to heightened geopolitical tensions, including Houthi attacks near Mocha, Yemen, and increased US naval deployments in the region. The Indian rupee traded near ₹95.20 against the US dollar, and COMEX Gold remained above $4,300, facing resistance near its seven-week high.

Options data revealed call writing at the 24,600 and 24,700 strikes, with significant put open interest at 24,500, indicating market expectations of the index holding steady around that level.