Blue-chip IT stocks began the first trading Monday of 2026 on a muted note, after a slew of negative updates from the ‘world police’ United States.
Market benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 both slipped at market open, dragged by tech stocks. Major Sensex names, HCL Tech, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), slumped in morning trade on a turbulent day.
However, India-centric stocks like BEL, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, and Axis Bank kept themselves consistently in the green. The result: a turbulent morning with the benchmark index looking like a sine wave.
The new year started with significant geopolitical events, such as the US attack on Venezuela and POTUS Donald Trump threatening military action against Colombia. Trump also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "knew he was not happy" with India’s purchases of Russian oil, hinting at further tariffs on New Delhi.
The market turnaround came right after a bullish Friday, which saw Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) buy equities worth Rs 289.80 crore, adding to Rs 677.38 crore worth of stocks bought by Domestic institutional investors (DIIs).
Friday’s close saw the Sensex climb 573.41 points to settle at 85,762.01 while the Nifty gained 182 points to close at 26,328.55.
All eyes will also be on the oil markets. Brent crude futures edged up to $60.87 as oil markets reacted after the US bombed Venezuela, the country with the world’s largest crude reserves. Sunday’s vote by OPEC+ to keep oil output unchanged did not help matters.