Dalal Street extended its winning streak to nine consecutive sessions on Thursday—excluding the symbolic Muhurat trading day—with benchmark indices grinding out marginal gains in a volatile session. Financial, banking, and real estate heavyweights absorbed midday profit-booking and global IT weakness to keep domestic markets afloat.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed at 81,911.01, up 31.61 points or 0.04%, after swinging through an intraday range of nearly 750 points between a peak of 82,325.61 and a trough of 81,576.15. The NSE Nifty 50 ended at 25,299.35, gaining 44.30 points or 0.18%, having touched an intraday high of 25,384.80 and a low of 25,142.95.
Broader Markets Outperform; Realty and Financials Lead
While frontline benchmarks consolidated after a vertical nine-day rally, buying appetite remained strong across broader market segments and domestic-facing sectors:
- Midcap & Smallcap Momentum: The Nifty MidCap 100 rose 0.66% (with broader midcap gauges advancing up to 0.85%), while the Nifty SmallCap 100 gained 1.01%, outperforming headline benchmarks for a second straight session.
- Sectoral Standouts: Realty emerged as the top sectoral gainer, rallying roughly 3% to 4%. Nifty Bank climbed 1.19% to 61,518.50, and Nifty Financial Services gained 1.42% to 28,057.15, buoyed by HDFC Life (+4.2%), Shriram Finance (+3.6%), Bajaj Finance (+3.4%), and SBI (+2.4%).
- Volatility & Currency: India VIX cooled further by 5.40% to 16.61, signaling easing near-term anxiety. The Indian rupee held near recent highs at around 93.85 against the US dollar despite renewed greenback strength following hotter-than-expected US October inflation data.
- Technical Outlook: According to Nandish Shah, Deputy Vice President at HDFC Securities, the bullish structure remains firmly intact. Immediate resistance for the Nifty stands at the recent swing high of 25,424—a breakout above which opens doors toward 25,500–25,600—while support is pegged at 25,200–25,150, followed by 25,000.
Key Market Drivers: ₹60,000-Crore FII Inflows and Easing Crude
Two major macro tailwinds continue to anchor Indian equities against global headwinds:
- Sustained Foreign Capital Return: Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have pumped ₹60,698 crore into Indian equities over the first 11 days of November 2026 (with cumulative monthly inflows crossing ₹65,735 crore), including net purchases of ₹12,563.33 crore on Wednesday. This reversal from two months of heavy selling has been the primary engine behind the Nifty’s 9.55% surge this month.
- Crude Oil Relief: Brent crude futures slipped over $1 per barrel on Thursday to trade around $91.29–$91.75 (down over 1%), while WTI hovered near $85.29–$85.49. Hopes of diplomatic progress in Middle East and Russia-Ukraine peace talks, alongside rising OPEC+ output and an estimated 9-million-barrel build in US crude inventories reported by the API, have pulled crude sharply down from its October peak of $118—providing major fiscal and inflation relief for India.
Business Beat: HAL, Tata Power, and Page Industries Lead Q2 Earnings
With 442 BSE-listed companies scheduled to report Q2 FY27 numbers on Thursday, stock-specific action dominated corporate headlines:
- Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL): Consolidated net profit jumped 16% year-on-year to ₹1,936 crore from ₹1,669.07 crore, while revenue from operations rose 15% to ₹7,613 crore. Despite strong top-line growth, EBITDA margins narrowed to 22.8% from 23.5% on higher expenses, pulling the stock down up to 4.15% intraday to ₹4,738.80.
- Tata Power: Posted a record quarterly net profit of ₹1,652 crore (up 33% YoY; ₹1,366 crore up 49% YoY before regulatory adjustments), with revenue climbing 26% to ₹19,886 crore. Its board also approved an ₹11,871-crore investment for an 1,800 MW pumped storage project at Shirwata, Maharashtra. Shares edged down 0.87% to ₹356.85 as analysts flagged margin contraction to 18.68% in its solar manufacturing vertical.
- Page Industries: Net profit rose 4% YoY to ₹203 crore, supported by an 11.53% rise in revenue to ₹1,440 crore.
- Other Movers: Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) posted a 12% rise in Q2 net profit to ₹172 crore. Ahead of earnings, Ola Electric Mobility climbed 3.80% to ₹35.74 and Vodafone Idea gained 1.4% to ₹13.06, while Bajaj Finance drew investor interest following its QIP fundraise launch.
