Sensex, Nifty End Flat Amid Oil Surge and Global Tensions

Indian equity benchmark indices ended Monday's session with marginal gains after a volatile day of trading, as rising geopolitical tensions and a spike in crude oil prices kept investors cautious.

The Sensex edged up 26.76 points or 0.03% to close at 78,520.30, while the Nifty gained 11.30 points or 0.05% to settle at 24,364.85. Market breadth remained weak, with 1,733 stocks advancing against 2,471 declining and 175 unchanged, indicating underlying pressure despite flat headline indices.

Oil Surge, Geopolitical Tensions Drive Volatility

Markets witnessed sharp swings during the session amid renewed tensions between the US and Iran, raising concerns over global oil supply disruptions. Reports of attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and fresh restrictions on the critical oil route heightened uncertainty.

Crude oil prices rose sharply, with West Texas Intermediate futures gaining nearly 5.6% to $87.21 per barrel, while Brent crude advanced 4.45% to $94.25 per barrel.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, said the market reaction reflects caution rather than panic. "Renewed disputes over the Strait of Hormuz injected volatility into global markets, but investors are viewing these disruptions as negotiation tactics rather than the onset of a full-scale conflict," he said.

He added that while oil prices have surged and the rupee has weakened, markets are also drawing support from the ongoing Q4 earnings season, leading to selective buying in sectors such as power, capital goods and consumer durables.

Sectoral Moves Mixed, Banks Show Resilience

Sectoral trends remained mixed. IT, telecom and realty indices declined around 0.5% each, while auto, oil & gas, media, power, energy and PSU bank stocks rose between 0.3% and 1%.

Banking stocks showed a positive bias, supported by encouraging Q4 earnings trends and favourable brokerage commentary. ICICI Bank led gains among major lenders, while HDFC Bank remained subdued following its results. The Nifty Bank index ended marginally higher by 0.03% at 56,582, while the PSU Bank index gained over 0.87%.

Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, noted that Bank Nifty faced resistance near the 57,100 level and witnessed mild profit booking thereafter. "Despite the corrective move, Bank Nifty managed to close marginally higher, but the formation of a bearish candle with a long upper shadow indicates selling pressure at higher levels and hesitation among bulls," he said. He added that momentum indicators remain flat, suggesting consolidation in the near term.

Among Nifty stocks, Trent, SBI, JSW Steel, Asian Paints and Grasim Industries were among the top gainers, while Jio Financial, Hindalco, HDFC Life, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the key laggards.

The broader market underperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap index declining 0.2% and the Smallcap index falling 0.4%, indicating profit booking in high-beta segments.

In the currency market, the Indian rupee weakened by 20 paise to close at ₹93.12 per dollar, pressured by rising crude prices and global uncertainty.

Asian markets ended mostly higher, with gains across South Korea, Japan, China and Hong Kong, providing some support to sentiment despite volatility in domestic equities.