In an extremely volatile session, Indian equity benchmarks rebounded by over 1 per cent on Monday after facing a massive drubbing in the past three trading days, supported by value buying in blue-chip Auto, banking and FMCG stocks. Traders took support amid a report that said Iran has allowed ships of all countries except US and Israel to pass through the Hormuz Strait.  

Some of the important factors in trade:    

Fitch raises India’s GDP growth projection for FY26 to 7.5%: Fitch Ratings has raised India’s GDP growth forecast marginally to 7.5 per cent for FY26 with domestic demand being the biggest growth driver this year. 

India's WPI inflation rises to 2.13% in February: The government data showed wholesale price inflation rose for the fourth straight month, at 2.13 per cent in February, driven by an uptick in prices of food and non-food articles, even though vegetable prices eased on a month-on-month basis. 

India well-placed to deal with any situation on crude oil, fuel amid West Asia supply shock: Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India is well-placed to deal with any situation on crude oil and fuel, as the West Asia crisis disrupts gas shipments and shipping routes.

Diamond sector’s stocks in watch: The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has said India's gems and jewellery exports grew 3.86 per cent year-on-year to $2,680.79 million (Rs 24,340.05 crore) in February, following the industry's diversification into other markets.  

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in green as traders looked forward to the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy decision and Chair Jerome Powell's press conference for directional cues. Asian markets ended mostly lower as investors assessed elevated oil prices and the latest developments in the escalating U.S.-Iran conflict. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 938.93 points or 1.26% to 75,502.85 and the CNX Nifty was up by 257.70 points or 1.11% to 23,408.80.            

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 75,805.27 and 73,949.76 respectively. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.23%, Bankex up by 1.08%, FMCG up by 0.94%, Consumer discretionary up by 0.56% and Basic Materials up by 0.55%, while Oil & Gas down by 2.29%, Realty down by 1.51%, Energy down by 1.36%, Healthcare down by 1.13% and Capital Goods down by 0.91% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 4.22%, Trent up by 3.01%, HDFC Bank up by 2.88%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.86% and Eternal up by 2.80%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 2.32%, Sun Pharma down by 1.25%, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.98%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.82% and NTPC down by 0.59% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, mirroring the recent trajectory in retail inflation, India's wholesale price index (WPI) inflation accelerated in the month of February 2026 at 2.13% as compared to 1.81% in January 2026, driven by higher prices of crude petroleum & natural gas and non- food articles.

The component wise, primary articles index, having weight of 22.62%, declined by 0.52% from 193.9 (provisional) for the month of January 2026 to 192.9 (provisional) in February 2026, with decline in the prices of food articles and minerals. However, the prices of crude petroleum & natural gas and non- food articles increased in February 2026.

Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15%, increased by 1.17% from 145.9 (provisional) for the month of January 2026 to 147.6 (provisional) in February 2026. The price of mineral oils increased in February 2026, while the price of electricity decreased in February, 2026 as compared to January, 2026.

Further, Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23%, increased by 0.47% from 147.5 (provisional) for the month of January 2026 to 148.2 (provisional) in February 2026. Meanwhile, for the month of December, 2025, the final Wholesale Price Index and inflation rate for 'All Commodities' (Base: 2011-12=100) stood at 157.2 and 0.96% respectively.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 23,502.00 and 22,955.25 respectively. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.  

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 4.46%, Grasim Industries up by 3.44%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.34%, Eternal up by 3.16% and Trent up by 2.68%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 2.48%, Max Healthcare down by 2.32%, Wipro down by 1.79%, Coal India down by 1.71% and ONGC down by 1.51% and were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 39.75 points or 0.39% to 10,300.90 and Germany’s DAX gained 66.41 points or 0.28% to 23,513.70, while France’s CAC fell 8.73 points or 0.11% to 7,902.80. 

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Monday, tracking Wall Street’s fall last Friday on concerns over escalating war in the Middle East and its impact on energy prices, inflation, economic growth and monetary policy. The Middle East conflict has entered its third week with no signs of immediate de-escalation. The US attacked military targets on Iran’s main oil-export hub of Kharg Island over the weekend, while reports suggested that the United States will soon announce a coalition of countries to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Chinese shares declined ahead of the upcoming meeting between president Xi Jinping and Donald Trump later this month. Japanese market declined ahead of Bank of Japan's policy meeting this week, with expectations to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.75% amid the conflict. Meanwhile, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the country currently has no plans to deploy warships to the strait of Hormuz despite US President Donald Trump’s call for allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.