Indian shares rise as oil, Fed fears ease; financials gain on Q2 updates

On Monday, Indian shares rose following a 25-year-long weekly losing streak, aided by falling oil prices and reduced fears of aggressive U.S. monetary tightening. The Nifty 50 index increased by 0.60% to 22,555.75, while the Sensex climbed 0.66% to 72,382.47. Over the past eight weeks, India's blue-chips had slipped, driven by record foreign selling, high oil prices, and soaring global bond yields.

However, market sentiment improved as softer-than-expected U.S. jobs data lessened the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate hike later in the month, offering a respite to emerging-market assets. A decrease in crude prices also contributed to the positive shift. Kruti Shah, a quant analyst at Equirus Securities, noted that Indian markets are at a "crossroads" with domestic liquidity facing a tough global macro environment.

Of the 16 major sectors, 13 posted gains while small-caps and mid-caps rose by 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively. Financials, including banks and lenders, led the surge after strong quarterly business updates. Bajaj Finance surged 2.3% after reporting an 11% year-on-year increase in new loans in the September quarter. Punjab National Bank climbed 2.5% following a 14.8% growth in global advances in the same period.

Bank of Baroda gained 0.9% after announcing an 18% rise in quarterly advances. Mahindra & Mahindra Finance added 2% after its non-bank lender disclosed a 22% jump in overall disbursements in the September quarter, according to its business update. ITC, a consumer goods company, led the fast-moving consumer goods index with a 1.8% increase after Citi upgraded its rating to "buy" from "sell."

Nykaa's parent company, FSN E-Commerce, rose 4.5% after projecting robust revenue growth in the September quarter, citing success in the fashion and beauty sectors.