By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M
(Reuters) -India’s equity benchmarks started the week on a positive note, led by post-earnings gains in State Bank of India and Tata Motors, and as investors picked up stocks after six consecutive weeks of losses as they awaited U.S.-Russia talks.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.91% to 24,585.05 points and the BSE Sensex gained 0.93% to 80,604.08 on Monday.
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.
Reliance Industries, which has benefited from cheaper Russian oil imports, rose 1.4%. The stock fell nearly 2% last week.
“We are definitely seeing some bargain buying today after losses seen in the last few weeks. There is some positivity on the back of scheduled U.S.-Russia talks. But it needs to be seen what comes out of those talks,” said Aamar Deo Singh, senior vice president at Angel One.
Fifteen of the 16 major sectors logged gains. Public sector banks were the biggest gainers with a 2.2% climb, led by a 2.4% rise in State Bank of India.
The country’s largest lender by assets posted higher profit, driven by stronger treasury income and curtailed spending.
The broader small-caps and mid-caps gained 0.4% and 0.9%, respectively.
Markets are eyeing U.S. President Donald Trump’s August 15 meeting in Alaska with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, aimed at negotiating an end to the Ukraine war.
Trump last week announced additional tariffs of 25% on Indian goods, on top of the surprise 25% currently under effect, for buying Russian oil amid war in Ukraine.
Automaker Tata Motors added 3.2% after it maintained outlook for UK-based arm Jaguar Land Rover and reported stronger-than-expected commercial vehicle sales in first quarter.
Engineering major Larsen & Toubro rose 1.7% after it won an order worth more than 150 billion rupees from Adani Power.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Janane Venkatraman)
