Mumbai, June 1 (IANS): Indian equity benchmarks started the month on a strong note on Monday, trading higher in early deals despite elevated oil prices and ongoing geopolitical tensions, with Sensex rising nearly 600 points or 0.8 per cent to hit an intraday high of 75,367 and Nifty climbing 185 points or 0.78 per cent to trade at 23,733. Sectoral trends remained largely positive, led by IT stocks, with Nifty IT emerging as the top sectoral gainer rising around 2 per cent, while Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom advanced more than 1 per cent and media, chemicals and metal stocks also traded in the green. However, FMCG stocks remained under pressure with the Nifty FMCG index declining 0.57 per cent, while auto and healthcare indices also traded marginally lower. Among Nifty constituents, Hindustan Unilever emerged as the top loser falling 1.35 per cent, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra which slipped 0.95 per cent, while NTPC, Tata Consumer Products, Power Grid, Bharat Electronics, Nestle India, ITC and Sun Pharma also traded lower. India VIX, the market’s volatility gauge, fell more than 1 per cent to around 16.
On the geopolitical front, the US carried out strikes over the weekend on Iranian radar and drone command-and-control sites in Iran’s Goruk and Qeshm Island in response to what it described as aggressive Iranian actions, including the downing of a US MQ-1 drone operating over international waters, according to US Central Command. Reports also claim that US President Donald Trump is planning to modify the terms of the agreement with Iran to end the war, even as Tehran prepares to introduce new elements, with the two countries still appearing divided on key issues central to the conflict. On the commodities front, international benchmark Brent crude rose 2.63 per cent to $93.52 per barrel while WTI crude gained more than 3 per cent to $90, and Asian stocks traded mostly higher with major indices Nikkei, Hang Seng and KOSPI jumping up to 4 per cent.