By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M
(Reuters) -India’s equity benchmarks inched higher on Monday, led by gains in Grasim Industries and State Bank of India on upbeat quarterly earnings, while uncertainty over U.S. tariffs on Indian goods capped gains.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.3% to 24,436.8 points and the BSE Sensex gained 0.31% to 80,108.2 as of 10:30 a.m. IST.
Fourteen of the 16 major sectors logged gains. Public sectors banks rose 2%, led by a 2.2% rise in State Bank of India.
The country’s largest lender by assets posted a 12.5% year-on-year profit rise, driven by stronger non-lending income.
Grasim Industries jumped 2.2% after reporting better-than-expected earnings, with Jefferies and Morgan Stanley raising price targets citing strength in its chemicals business.
The broader, small-caps and mid-caps gained 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
The Nifty and Sensex shed nearly 1% last week, posting their longest weekly losing streak in five years, as U.S. tariffs and muted earnings weighed.
U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on goods from India, half of which has already come into effect, while the additional 25%, a punitive tariff for buying Russian oil, will be effective from August 28.
Markets are eyeing Trump’s August 15 meeting in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, aimed at negotiating an end to the Ukraine war.
“Momentum is still skewed to the downside”, said Santosh Meena, head of research at Swastika Investmart, referring to the uncertainty over the U.S. trade negotiations.
“But the recent slide could trigger a technical rebound, though trade updates will ultimately call the shots.”
Among individual stocks, Voltas fell 7% after missing June quarter profit estimates as early monsoons hit demand for residential cooling products.
Travel-related services provider Yatra Online surged 19.5% after posting a four-fold year-on-year jump in quarterly profit.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Janane Venkatraman)
