Indian equity markets stood up to the global turmoil and held their head green high. The bears were geared up with determinants in their favour, but the Metal and Auto sectors of India had other plans. Monday, 4th August, 2025, the markets opened with nervous sentiments but warmed upto buying widespread in the major sectors. The key BSE Sensex zoomed by 418.81 points i.e. 0.52% to re-cross the 81,000-mark, closing at 81,018.72, while the NSE Nifty50 rose 157.40 points i.e. 0.64% to close the day at 24,722.75, shrugging off unabated foreign selling and tariff pressures from the US.
Auto and Metal Sectors Lead the Gains
The rally was led mainly by auto and metal shares, which outshone on the back of domestic recovery hopes and solid earnings. Hero MotoCorp was the session’s best gainer, surging 5.18% to ₹4,535. Tata Steel was second with a gain of 4.08%, closing at ₹159.25. Other significant index movers were Adani Ports (3.56%), Bharat Electronics (3.37%), and JSW Steel (2.86%).
On the sectoral side, there was heavy buying in automobiles and metals, indicative of investors’ faith in manufacturing and export-oriented businesses despite the overhang of fresh US tariffs on Indian products. Energy stocks provided support, with Reliance Industries and ONGC joining the rally.
On the other hand, the banking and power sectors experienced light profit-taking. Power Grid fell by 1.12%, HDFC Bank by 0.88%, and ONGC edged down by 0.7%, limiting further advances for the benchmarks.
Small Cap and Mid Cap Indices
On the broader market, there was more caution. The BSE Midcap index rose 0.3%, sustaining its outperformance phase against large-caps driven by increasing interest in quality mid-cap stocks. The BSE Smallcap index traded nearly flat, in line with the recent profit-taking following a vicious rally during the early part of the year. Small caps had exhibited negative momentum in July, with Nifty Smallcap 100 decreasing around 5.7% for the month, although select names in healthcare and digital performed well.
Star Performers and Laggards
Among the Nifty 500, Sarda Energy & Minerals gave a scintillating 20% surge, and Aditya Birla Capital was up 11.3%. Capri Global Capital and Netweb Technologies were also among the top performers. All stocks did not join the party, however—Thermax slipped 6.7%, Narayana Hrudayalaya lost 5.6%, and ABB India dipped 5.5%.
Market Outlook
Despite a choppy global backdrop and relentless foreign portfolio outflows, Indian equities displayed remarkable resilience, supported by strong domestic flows, Q1 earnings momentum, and the start of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting. With the Nifty and Sensex holding above key resistance levels, market watchers highlighted the importance of 24,500 (Nifty) and 80,400 (Sensex) as crucial supports in the coming days.
Investor attention then shifts to policy cues from the RBI and additional earnings catalysts in the week to come.
