Sensex, Nifty pare gains after early rally; cement stocks rally

The key equity benchmarks pared gains on Monday, with the Nifty retreating from the 23,300 level as traders booked profits at higher levels. However, the underlying sentiment remained firm. Falling crude oil prices, strong Q2 earnings from Reliance Industries and Jio Platforms, and renewed foreign investor buying supported the rally. Expectations of long-term capital gains tax relief, a stronger rupee and easing bond yields also lifted sentiment. Weakness in global AI-linked stocks further supported Indian equities.

At 13:30 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 595.89 points or 0.80% to 75,055.42. The Nifty 50 index rose 169.10 points or 0.73% to 23,222.20.

In the broader market, the Nifty MidCap 150 Index gained 0.95% and the Nifty SmallCap 250 Index added 1.46%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,772 shares rose and 1,497 shares fell. A total of 260 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 2.41% to 15.67.

Buzzing Segment:

The Nifty Cement index rose 2.57% to 13,544.80. All 12 constituents advanced, led by Nuvoco Vistas, which gained 5.49%. JSW Cement rose 4.11%, followed by Ramco Cements (4.09%), Dalmia Bharat (4%), Ambuja Cements (3.51%) and ACC (2.42%).

Shree Cement advanced 2.07%, while UltraTech Cement gained 2.02%. JK Cement, India Cements, Grasim Industries and Birla Corporation rose 1.84%, 1.75%, 1.66% and 1.02%, respectively.

Stocks in Spotlight:

PC Jeweller fell 1.68% after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued administrative warning letters to Managing Director Balram Garg and Company Secretary Vijay Panwar. The action relates to the company's failure to maintain a structured digital database for unpublished price-sensitive information linked to a business update disclosed on 3 July 2025.

Zen Technologies surged 11.40% after the company reported a 50.74% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 89.54 crore in Q2 FY27 from Rs 59.40 crore. Sequentially, profit rose 159.8% from Rs 34.46 crore in Q1 FY27. The company reported a 98.8% year-on-year increase in consolidated sales to Rs 345.13 crore in Q2 FY27. Sequentially, sales surged 143.7% from Rs 141.64 crore in Q1 FY27.

Indigo Paints fell 12.03% after the company reported a 46.97% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 13.32 crore in Q2 FY27, reflecting pressure on profitability from higher material costs. Sequentially, net profit declined 67.89% from Rs 41.70 crore in Q1 FY27. Revenue from operations increased 14.96% year on year to Rs 358.75 crore from Rs 312.06 crore. However, revenue declined 2.95% quarter on quarter from Rs 369.67 crore in Q1 FY27.

Global Markets:

Dow futures rose 79 points, signalling a positive opening for US stocks.

European equity benchmarks traded lower on Monday as investors assessed corporate earnings, economic data and the interest rate outlook. Sentiment remained weak amid continued selling in technology stocks following disappointing global tech earnings.

Asian equities were mixed on Monday. Concerns over the sustainability of the artificial intelligence investment boom weighed on technology stocks. The weakness followed a sharp selloff in US technology shares on Friday.

Wall Street ended sharply lower on Friday, 30 October 2026. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 572.25 points, or 1.09%, to 51,770.31. The S&P 500 declined 140.32 points, or 1.82%, to 7,580.07. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 747.72 points, or 2.86%, to 25,437. The Nasdaq recorded its steepest single-day decline since 5 June 2026.

Technology and semiconductor stocks led the selloff. Investors remained concerned about rising AI-related spending and companies' ability to generate adequate cash flows from these investments.

Intel was among the biggest drags, with its shares plunging 28.6% on Friday after the chipmaker issued a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter outlook. The company forecast revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, against analyst expectations of $17.08 billion. Its adjusted third-quarter earnings of $0.52 per share and revenue of $16.5 billion had exceeded estimates. However, the outlook and concerns over manufacturing constraints, PC demand and cash flow overshadowed the results.

The semiconductor selloff extended to other major companies. Nvidia shares fell 4.2%, AMD declined 10.9% and the semiconductor index lost 7.2%. Sandisk dropped 13%, while Reddit also faced heavy selling. Shares of Amazon declined 1.4% during Friday's session after its quarterly results heightened concerns over the scale of AI infrastructure investment.

Amazon reported third-quarter net sales of $201.9 billion, up 12% year on year, while AWS revenue increased 39.3% to $46 billion. Operating income rose to $28.1 billion from $17.4 billion a year earlier. However, trailing 12-month free cash flow turned negative at $42.4 billion, compared with an inflow of $14.8 billion a year earlier. The company attributed the decline primarily to higher property and equipment spending, largely related to AI investments. Amazon forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $240 billion to $247 billion.

Energy stocks bucked the broader market trend. Exxon Mobil and Chevron rose after reporting third-quarter profits above market expectations, supported by higher refining margins amid disruptions to global fuel supplies. Both companies benefited from stronger downstream earnings as conflict-related disruptions constrained fuel production.

On the economic front, the US Employment Cost Index increased 0.8% in the third quarter of 2026, matching market expectations but easing from 0.9% in the previous quarter. Civilian worker compensation costs rose 0.8% over the three months ended September, while wages and salaries increased 0.7% and benefit costs rose 0.9%. The data indicated a moderation in labour-cost growth. The Chicago PMI fell to 55.3 in October from 58.8 in September, below the market forecast of 56.1.

Brent crude futures fell below $111 a barrel. The pullback followed talks between Iranian and Qatari officials aimed at ending the US-Israeli war on Iran. However, continued attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz remain a supply-side risk.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News