Indian stock markets rallied for a third straight session on Monday, with the Sensex gaining 1.66 per cent to close at 75,692.78 and the Nifty rising 1.68 per cent to 23,440.80, in what market watchers described as the benchmarks’ best single-day jump in months. The rally was led by Reliance Industries, which recorded its strongest single-day gain since April 2020, and was supported by easing crude oil prices and a run of strong corporate earnings.
Reliance’s surge did much of the heavy lifting. As the heaviest-weighted stock on the indices, a sharp move in the energy-to-retail conglomerate pulls the benchmarks with it, and Monday’s advance came alongside optimism over a possible rollback of long-term capital gains tax for foreign investors, following reports that market regulator SEBI has recommended exactly that to the government ahead of the February Budget.
The broader mood was helped by crude prices easing and by the sense that the worst of the foreign-investor selling that has dogged Indian equities through 2026 may be easing. Foreign portfolio investors have withdrawn roughly 31 billion dollars from Indian equities so far this year, a drag that has kept returns muted despite steady domestic inflows through mutual funds. Any policy signal that could slow that outflow tends to be greeted warmly on Dalal Street.
Monday’s session also capped a strong start to November for the markets, coming on the heels of robust October GST collections reported over the weekend. The combination of healthy tax data, festive-season demand and a string of quarterly results has given traders a more confident backdrop than they have enjoyed for much of the year, even if valuations remain a point of debate.
Not every stock shared in the gains. The day’s stocks-to-watch list was dominated by companies reporting quarterly numbers: ITC, whose net profit fell 18.45 per cent to Rs 4,229 crore; Marico, whose profit jumped 29.16 per cent to Rs 558 crore; and NALCO, up 28.3 per cent to Rs 1,835 crore. NBCC was in focus after signing a Rs 2,000 crore projects agreement with the Bihar government, while Jupiter Wagons secured orders worth over Rs 324 crore.
Analysts urged caution even as they welcomed the rally. Tax efficiency alone, one wealth manager noted, will not bring foreign capital back: earnings growth, valuations, currency stability and India’s relative appeal among emerging markets remain the primary drivers of foreign flows. A single strong session, however welcome, does not by itself reverse a year of outflows.
For retail investors, the practical takeaway is familiar: rallies led by one heavyweight stock can flatter the headline indices while individual portfolios move differently. Monday belonged to Reliance and the bulls. Whether it marks a durable turn or a relief rally inside a choppy year will depend on earnings, flows and the government’s response to SEBI’s tax pitch in the run-up to the Budget.
