Index heavyweights, autos help Nifty, Sensex snap three-session losing run

India’s benchmark indexes rose on Monday as value buying in heavyweight stocks and a partial rebound in auto shares after last week’s steep drop countered concerns over higher crude prices from the Middle East war.

The Nifty 50 rose 1.11% to 23,408.80, while the BSE Sensex added 1.26% to 75,502.85, snapping a three-session losing streak.

The Nifty traded in a range of 547 points, the highest in about six weeks, signalling elevated volatility in Monday’s session.

The benchmark indexes confirmed a technical correction last week, a 10% drop at close from record high levels, due to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

“While the Middle East war is extremely bad for the global economy and stock markets, valuations have emerged appealing in domestic equities after the recent drop, providing attractive value-buying opportunities,” said G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics Research.

Top private lender HDFC Bank rose 2.9%, while other index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank added 1% each. They had lost 4.7%, 1.7% and 4.5%, respectively, last week.

Auto stocks, which lost 10.6% last week to post their worst performance in six years, gained 1.7% on the day.

On the day, nine of the 16 major sectors advanced, while the broader mid-caps and small-caps fell 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively.

Among other stocks, BPCL, HPCL and Indian Oil lost 4%-5%, after HSBC downgraded the oil marketing companies to “hold” from “buy”.

IDBI Bank slumped 16.6% after media reports said the Indian government will shelve the bids it received for a majority stake sale in the lender.

While equities rebounded on the day, Brent crude hovered around $104 a barrel, even as the U.S. President Donald Trump urged other countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

Higher oil prices are negative for India, the world’s third-largest crude importer, as they could widen the fiscal deficit, stoke inflation and weigh on growth.