Stock Markets Today, November 5: Indian equity markets extended their winning streak to a sixth consecutive session on Thursday, with benchmark indices surging nearly 2% to extend early gains as falling crude oil prices, a sharp rally on Wall Street and renewed foreign investor buying fuelled a broad-based rally.
The rally has gathered momentum amid improving global risk appetite following the Democratic Party’s strong performance in the US midterm elections and growing expectations of a possible de-escalation of the US-Iran conflict.
At 9:50 am, the BSE Sensex jumped 1,609 points, or 2.08%, to 78,909.93, while the NSE Nifty 50 surged 455 points, or 1.90%, to 24,415.45.
The buying momentum remained broad-based, with banking, automobile, information
technology and financial services stocks leading the gains. The Nifty Financial Services index advanced 2.65%, while the Nifty Auto index rallied 2.95%. Nifty IT climbed 2.99%, and Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank surged 3.27%.
The rally follows a strong performance on Wednesday and comes amid a significant improvement in global risk appetite. Wall Street staged a sharp rally overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 1,569 points, or 3.03%, to 53,356.12, its biggest single-day gain since April 9, 2025. The S&P 500 advanced 1.58%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.44%.
Investors welcomed the Democratic Party’s gains in the US midterm elections, which are expected to strengthen congressional checks on President Donald Trump and potentially limit further escalation of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. Expectations of a possible de-escalation have also triggered a sharp correction in crude oil prices, providing significant relief to oil-importing economies such as India.
Among individual stocks, Bajaj Finance led the Nifty 50 gainers, jumping 5.57%, followed by IndiGo, which gained 5.06%. Maruti Suzuki advanced 4.75%, while Asian Paints and Mahindra & Mahindra rose 4.62% and 3.76%, respectively. Infosys gained 3.71%, while Tech Mahindra, TCS, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank also traded firmly higher.
The broader market participated in the rally, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 1.29% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 1.13%. The Nifty 500 advanced 1.64%, indicating widespread buying interest across market segments.
India VIX, the market’s volatility gauge, edged up 0.65% to 15.29, suggesting that some near-term uncertainty persists despite the strong rally.
Investors’ Wealth Increases Rs 7.14 Lakh Crore
The sharp rally also translated into a substantial increase in investor wealth. Investors added Rs 7.14 lakh crore to their wealth as the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies rose to Rs 501.56 lakh crore from Rs 494.42 lakh crore in the previous session.
Crude oil below $94 adds to market cheer
Oil prices declined for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, with Brent crude futures falling 1.03% to $93.65 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declining 1.29% to $86.98 as of 0211 GMT.
Both benchmarks had plunged more than 8% in the previous session, settling at their lowest levels since August 31. The sharp correction has brought Brent below the psychologically important $100 mark and significantly improved the outlook for India’s external balances, inflation and corporate profitability.
The possibility of a diplomatic resolution to the US-Iran conflict has improved following the Republican Party’s losses in the Congressional elections. Investors are betting that a Democratic-controlled Congress could constrain Trump’s military options and increase the likelihood of negotiations with Tehran.
Lower crude prices are particularly positive for India, which imports a substantial portion of its energy requirements. A sustained decline could ease imported inflation, reduce pressure on the current account deficit and improve margins for oil-consuming sectors, including aviation, paints, chemicals and automobiles.
FIIs return in force; Rs 20,834 crore buying in four sessions
The improvement in global sentiment has coincided with a sharp turnaround in foreign investor flows into Indian equities.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have purchased equities worth Rs 20,834 crore in the cash market over the last four trading sessions, according to V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd. The pace of buying has also been steadily increasing, indicating a meaningful improvement in foreign investor sentiment towards Indian equities.
Vijayakumar attributed the turnaround to a combination of falling crude oil prices, resilience in the domestic economy and improving corporate earnings. He also pointed to expectations that the government could abolish the long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax in the upcoming Union Budget as another potential positive for foreign investors.
“With tailwinds for the economy getting stronger, the bullish trend in the market is set to continue. The strongest positive for the market is the sharp 10% fall in Brent crude to around $94 level,” Vijayakumar said.
He added that the decline in crude prices, coupled with improving domestic fundamentals, has “completely changed the FII’s stance towards India”.
Further upside likely, but profit booking cannot be ruled out
Vijayakumar expects the bullish momentum to continue, particularly in large-cap stocks, as short-covering activity has further room to play out. He believes banking and financial services majors could lead the next leg of the recovery.
“There is more short-covering to happen in large-caps and, therefore, expect further rebound in large-caps led by the banking/financial majors,” he said.
However, he cautioned that markets could witness intermittent profit booking at higher levels, particularly as domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have shown an inclination to sell into rallies.
Vijayakumar also flagged political uncertainty in the US as a potential source of volatility once the initial positive reaction to the election outcome fades.
“After the initial reaction to the US election results weakens, there will be concerns surrounding prolonged political conflict in the US, since Trump being what he is, is likely to turn Mr Veto rather than lame duck president,” he said.
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