After a robust four-day rally, benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex opened on a weak note note Monday, after a drop in financial and auto stocks kept a lid on last week's rally. The broader market, however, stole the spotlight by extending its winning streak to a seventh straight session, continuing to outperform the headline indices.

At about 9:40 am, the Sensex was down 156.48 points or 0.19 percent at 83,902.42, and the Nifty was down 44 points or 0.2 percent at 25,593. About 2,076 shares advanced, 1009 shares declined, and 168 shares remained unchanged.

As the first-quarter earnings season draws near, investors are turning their focus to corporate results for early indications of growth trends. There is also heightened anticipation around trade agreements that the United States is expected to finalise with major global partners in the coming week, and a deal with India would provide a further boost to Indian equities, experts said.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty PSU Bank led the gains with a rise of 1.28 percent, followed by Nifty Media at 0.65 percent and Nifty Pharma at 0.48 percent. Oil & Gas, Healthcare, and Consumer Durables indices added between 0.47 and 0.54 percent, while Nifty FMCG posted a modest gain of 0.13 percent. On the flip side, Nifty Auto slipped 0.19 percent, Private Bank declined 0.16 percent, and Financial Services 25/50 edged down 0.12 percent. In the broader market, Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 0.69 percent, and Nifty Midcap 100 advanced 0.25 percent.

With the Nifty nearing an unfilled gap between 25,640 and 25,740, minor resistance could be encountered this week. A sustained move beyond 25,750 could reignite bullish enthusiasm, possibly propelling the index towards the next psychological resistance at 26,000. Conversely, any retracement towards the 25,500–25,400 zone would be considered a healthy pullback, likely to add fuel to the ongoing uptrend. The prevailing chart setup favours a ‘buy-on-dips’ approach as long as key support levels remain unbroken.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals shares rose over 4 percent after it signed definitive agreements to acquire a controlling stake in JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals (JB Pharma) from global private equity firm KKR at an equity valuation of Rs 25,689 crore (fully diluted basis). This marks the second-largest deal in India’s pharma sector, behind Sun Pharma’s 2015 acquisition of Ranbaxy.

RBL Bank shares surged 2 percent after Citi Research opened a 90-day positive catalyst watch on the private lender, expecting an improvement on RoA or returns on assets going ahead. Citi reiterated its bullish 'buy' call on the lender, hiking its target price to Rs 285 per share, marking an upside potential of around 19 percent from the last close.

Shares of Uno Minda rose 3 percent, extending gains for a fourth consecutive session after CLSA initiated coverage with an outperform rating, citing strong growth drivers in the coming quarters. With a price target of Rs 1,304 per share, the international brokerage implies an upside potential of 17.5 percent from the last close of Rs 1,109 on the NSE.

Jio Financial Services, Axis Bank, Trent, TCS, and Tata Steel were the top gainers on the Nifty. Laggards on the index included NTPC, SBI Life Insurance, Dr Reddy's, Hindalco, and Bajaj Finance.