Dalal Street opened the first trading session of the week on a flat note, as heightened caution kept investors on edge on Monday, September 8, as ongoing tariff concerns weighed on sentiment.

At 09:15 a.m., the Sensex was up 288.85 points or 0.36 percent at 80,999.61, and the Nifty was up 83.10 points or 0.34 percent at 24,824.10.

Sectoral indices were trading higher with gains led by Nifty Metal (up 1.1 percent) and Nifty Auto (up 1.03 percent), while Nifty Realty and Nifty IT also edged up 0.75 percent and 0.51 percent, respectively. Nifty Pharma, Nifty FMCG, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Energy, Nifty Infra, and Nifty Media posted modest advances between 0.07 percent and 0.40 percent, reflecting a broadly positive start to the day.

Auto stocks soared, following a positive note from Bank of America Securities, which noted that the drivers for an auto upcycle are in place. From FY25 to FY28, the volume growth is likely to be at 8 percent CAGR. Metal stocks also gained after Morgan Stanley hiked its target prices for key steel players, expecting that domestic steel prices will expand as demand improves.

Meanwhile, against the backdrop of tariff-related turbulence between India and the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to President Donald Trump’s “always be friends” remark by affirming that he “wholeheartedly shares the sentiment.” Modi stressed that ties between the two nations rest on a “very positive” strategic partnership at the global level.

"The heightened uncertainty surrounding the US - India trade relations will continue to weigh on markets. President Trump’s recent statements regarding the “special US- India ties” and that “there is nothing to worry” indicate improvement in the strained relationship. However, Trump’s comments on second round of sanctions against Russia and Peter Navarro’s continuing tirade against India are negative factors," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments.

He added, "Also there are rumours of probable restrictions on India’s IT exports even though trade in services has so far been untouched by reciprocal tariffs. These concerns will continue to influence the market which got a morale boost from the GST reforms. The euphoria from GST reform was short-lived since the market had already partly discounted the GST rate cuts."

From a technical standpoint, the index continues to lack a decisive trend, with bulls and bears alternating dominance across sessions. "Nifty has remained locked within a broad consolidation band of 24,500–25,000, and only a breakout beyond this corridor will spark a directional move with meaningful momentum," said Dhupesh Dhameja, of SAMCO Securities.

He added a decisive move above 24,900 could unleash meaningful short covering, paving the way for an extended rally, while a breakdown below 24,500 may trigger a fresh leg of bearish continuation. "Until then, range-bound action is likely to dominate, favoring a “range trading” approach with 24,400 as the floor and 24,900 as the ceiling," he said.