Stock markets trade higher in early session tracking rally in Asian peers

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened on a firm note on Monday, led by strong buying in banks and services stocks, tracking a rally in Asian markets.

Analysts said global sentiment was shaped by the US Supreme Court's verdict that knocked down the Trump tariffs and termed them "illegal", a move that could significantly alter global trade dynamics.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 572.10 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 83,386.81 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 190.65 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 25,761.90.

Among the Sensex constituents, Adani Ports, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, and PowerGrid were the major gainers.

Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, IndiGo, and NTPC were trading in the red.

"The Trump tariff tale has become murkier after the US Supreme Court declared the tariffs illegal. The SC judgement is, indeed, a landmark decision which will seriously impact Trump's tariff weaponisation strategy," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

He noted that even the new 15 per cent global tariff imposed under Section 122 will be challenged in courts and the probability of this decision getting annulled is high since Section 122 allows the US president to impose tariffs to tackle serious balance of payments crisis, which the US doesn't have now.

"India has already delayed the visit of its trade negotiating team to the US in light of the changed scenario. This is a welcome move.

"From the market perspective, the US SC decision is indeed a positive, but this is not sufficient to trigger a sustained rally in the market. The market will see only a relief rally, which is unlikely to sustain. The market will respond only to the fundamentals, which are fortunately improving," Vijayakumar said.

The broader Asian markets were trading higher, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng benchmark surging over 2 per cent, while South Korea's Kospi went up nearly 1 per cent.

Markets in Japan and mainland China were remained closed due to holidays.

The US equities market ended higher on Friday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 1.07 per cent to $70.99 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 934.61 crore on Friday, while domestic institutional investors outpaced FIIs by purchasing stocks worth Rs 2,637.15 crore, according to the exchange data.

On Friday, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 316.57 points to settle at 82,814.71, while NSE Nifty advanced 116.90 points to close at 25,571.25.