Equity benchmarks opened higher on Monday, supported by gains in HDFC Bank and Axis Bank following their business updates, while lower crude oil prices also boosted market sentiment.At 9.38 am, the Sensex was up 357.54 points, or 0.46 per cent, at 78,121.45 after opening at 77,940.90 against the previous close of 77,763.91. The Nifty 50 gained 101.25 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 24,372.10 after opening at 24,306.85.HDFC Bank, Axis Bank lead Nifty 50 gainersAmong the Nifty 50 stocks, Bharat Electronics, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Hindalco were the top gainers. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid, TCS and Bajaj Finserv were among the major laggards.The broader market traded in positive territory, with the midcap index rising 0.19 per cent and the smallcap index advancing 0.11 per cent.Sectoral performance was mixed. The chemicals and healthcare indices led gains with increases of 0.5-0.7 per cent, while the Nifty Cement, Media and Financial Services indices traded lower.Midcap and smallcap spaceWithin the Nifty Midcap 100 index, Hitachi Energy, GE Vernova T&D, Nykaa and Bharat Dynamics gained 2.5-4 per cent. Suzlon, KPIT Technologies, BSE, MCX and Vishal Mega Mart declined 1-2 per cent.Among smallcap stocks, Welspun Corp, Data Patterns, Poonawalla Fincorp, Delhivery and Bandhan Bank gained 2-3 per cent, while Zensar Technologies, Ola Electric, Pine Labs and Netweb Technologies fell 2-6 per cent.On the NSE, 2,865 stocks were traded, of which 1,489 advanced, 1,265 declined and 111 remained unchanged. As many as 92 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 21 hit 52-week lows. Fifty-five stocks were locked in the upper circuit and 35 hit the lower circuit.Asian markets traded mixed on Monday. US markets were shut on Friday and had ended with a mixed close on Thursday last week.Markets await first-quarter earnings after positive previous weekLast week, the Nifty 50 and Sensex gained 0.9 per cent each. The Nifty Midcap 150 and Smallcap 250 indices also advanced 0.9 per cent and 1.2 per cent week-on-week, respectively.Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers during the week, offloading ₹2,716 crore in the cash market, while domestic institutional investors were net buyers of ₹12,634 crore.Brent crude oil extended its decline to trade around $72 per barrel.Market participants will now turn their focus to first-quarter FY27 earnings, with TCS, L&T Finance and Anand Rathi scheduled to announce their results during the second half of the week.More Like ThisPublished on July 6, 2026