The Indian stock market opened on an even keel Monday, navigating mixed international signals with steady pharma sector support. Sensex traded at 82,605, off 21 points, and Nifty at 25,473, ahead by 2 points in early hours at 9:21 AM.
Pharma and healthcare led the charge as top gainers, alongside advances in Nifty Realty, Energy, Consumer Durables, Private Bank, and PSE indices.
Weakness prevailed in Nifty Media, PSU Bank, Metal, IT, Financial Services, Commodities, Services, and India Defence.
Sensex standouts were Power Grid, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti Suzuki, ITC, Eternal, Kotak Mahindra Bank, M&M, HCL Tech, and Bharti Airtel. Decliners comprised Infosys, SBI, Tech Mahindra, HUL, Titan, UltraTech Cement, TCS, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Trent.
Mid and smallcaps trailed, Nifty Midcap 100 -0.34% at 59,234, Nifty Smallcap 100 -0.47% at 16,953.
Global backdrop: Asian markets down in Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong; US mixed close Friday (Dow +0.10%, Nasdaq -0.22%).
Commodities split: Oil up (Brent $67.80 +0.10%, WTI $62.80 +0.09%), metals down (gold $5,002 -0.80%, silver $75.11 -3.61%).
As trading progresses, focus shifts to corporate results and macro data, with sector rotation likely to influence intraday trends.