Dalal Street stretched its winning run to five straight sessions on Wednesday, ending in green despite a wild intra-day roller-coaster and US midterm verdict that saw Democrats snaring Congress from Republicans, as foreign fund buying, soft crude and strong exchange earnings kept sentiment buoyant.
The BSE Sensex closed at 77,301.40, up 383.55 points or 0.50% at 3:32 PM IST. It opened at 76,853.11 versus previous close of 76,917.85, down 64.74 points or 0.08% at open, slipped to an intra-day low of 76,604.85, then surged 791.19 points to a high of 77,396.04, before closing at 77,301.40. It had surged 478.18 points or 0.62% to 77,331.04 intra-day and was up 383.74 points or 0.50% to 77,301.59 at 9:30 AM. Previous close was 76,917.85. 52-week high 86,159.02, low 71,292.88. It fell 796 points from day’s high to low at noon, then recovered sharply.
The NSE Nifty 50 ended at 23,960.60, up 149.75 points or 0.63% at 3:31 PM IST. It opened at 23,742.25 versus previous close of 23,810.85, down 68.60 points or 0.29% at open, hit a low of 23,696.15, then climbed 264.45 points to a high of 23,960.60, closing at peak. It had climbed 135.5 points or 0.56% to 23,846.35 in morning, and was at 23,921.20 up 110.35 points or 0.46% at 9:31 AM. At 10:05 AM it was up 112.55 points to 23,923.40, and by 12 noon it fell 176 points from day’s peak to 23,770.20. Previous close was 23,810.85. 52-week high 26,373.20, low 22,179.90. The 1-day chart showed a W-shaped recovery – sharp gap-down at open, recovery till 10 AM, dip till noon to 23,760, then steady climb to close.
Indices At Nearly Two-Month High
Tuesday’s close was already strong – Sensex rose 1,225.07 points or 1.62% to 76,917.85, Nifty gained 370.05 points or 1.58% to 23,810.85, their highest closes in nearly two months and fourth straight gain, up about 5% over period. Wednesday added to it.
Bank Nifty ended at 55,913.60, up 373.55 points or 0.67%, outperforming. India VIX up 1.09% to 15.47 earlier. Market breadth positive – about 2,233 shares advanced, 1,020 declined, 154 unchanged at 9:46 AM. Rupee ended 10 paise higher at 94.64 per dollar versus previous close of 94.74.
What Drove Today – Three Big Reasons
FII Buying Spree
FIIs were net buyers worth Rs 6,837-6,836.81 crore on Tuesday, third consecutive session of buying, after Rs 3,114.68 crore Monday and Rs 3,598.54 crore Friday. Strong FII flow for three days was key reason behind gain, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit.
Soft Crude Supports
Brent crude eased to four-week low hovering around $103 per barrel, after tumbling 7.6% Monday to $104.77. Brent futures rose 82 cents or 0.8% to $104.42 at 0510 GMT Wednesday, WTI up 50 cents or 0.5% to $96.59, reversing earlier declines. In previous session Brent settled at lowest in nearly four weeks.
Capital Market Earnings Boost
NSE, MCX Q2 results and SEBI LTCG tax cut buzz brought capital market stocks into focus. Nifty Capital Market Index had rallied nearly 5% in previous session on reports Sebi recommended abolishing 12.5% LTCG tax on equity investments by foreign investors ahead of Budget 2027-28. Nifty Capital Market Index down around 0.85% today on profit booking.
Sectoral Map – Media Flies, IT Drags
Top Sectors
Nifty Media index up 5% top gainer, PSU Bank, Metal, Auto, Realty up, Bank, FMCG, Financial Services, Realty led rally Tuesday. Oil and Gas led Monday. Media, Healthcare, Pharma outperformed.
Loser
IT was only sectoral loser. BSE IT index crashed 685 points to 30,057 from day’s high of 30,742, Nifty IT index crashed 633 points to 31,917. Asian chip shares tumbled amid global AI rout, Nasdaq futures slid, weighing on domestic IT. IT down 2% at close.
Top Gainers
Max Healthcare Institute, State Bank of India and ITC featured among leading Nifty 50 gainers. Adani Enterprises, BEL, Titan also led gain.
Business Beat – Exchanges Report Record, Banks Shine
NSE – First Result Since Listing
National Stock Exchange reported 23% YoY rise in consolidated profit after tax to Rs 2,578-2,575.9 crore in Q2 FY27 vs Rs 2,095.6-2,098 crore YoY, first quarterly earnings since Dalal Street debut on September 24 when shares listed at Rs 1,800 vs issue price Rs 1,785. Total income rose 9-9.5% YoY to Rs 4,554.46 crore, revenue from operations up 10.6% to Rs 4,066.8 crore vs Rs 3,676.8 crore, operating EBITDA more than doubled 107% YoY to Rs 3,079 crore vs Rs 1,484 crore, EBITDA margin expanded to 75.7% from 40.4% YoY.
Sequential Weakness
On QoQ basis, net profit fell 17.4% to Rs 2,575.9 crore vs Rs 3,120.1 crore, revenue fell 10.8% QoQ to Rs 4,066.8 crore from Rs 4,560.4 crore, EBITDA declined 13.3% QoQ from Rs 3,550.93 crore, margin contracted 215 bps to 75.7% from 77.86%. Reason – transaction volumes declined 16% QoQ, ADTV in equity options premium declined 25% QoQ, yields moderated by 3 bps. Cushion came from commodities segment – futures ADT rose 38% QoQ to Rs 138 crore, options premium turnover surged 116% QoQ to Rs 297 crore driven by strong traction in crude oil contracts. Transaction charge revenue Rs 3,035 crore vs Rs 2,789 crore YoY up 9%, cash market ADTV up 24% YoY to Rs 1,18,377 crore, equity options premium ADTV up 3% YoY to Rs 47,977 crore, equity futures ADTV Rs 1,24,574 crore. Board approved proposal to divest up to 40% of wholly owned subsidiary National Coal Exchange of India. Shares trading at Rs 1,812.35 up 0.47%.
Brokerages Bullish
Morgan Stanley retained Overweight with unchanged target Rs 2,315 implying 28% upside, Jefferies Buy with revised target Rs 2,125 from Rs 2,085, Macquarie Outperform target Rs 1,975, Centrum initiated Buy target Rs 2,125 implying 18% upside. JPMorgan said revenue 4% ahead of estimate, EBITDA 5.5% ahead.
MCX – Profit More Than Doubles
Multi Commodity Exchange reported 130% YoY jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 454.57-455 crore vs Rs 197.47 crore, total income surged to Rs 799.66 crore vs Rs 374.23 crore, but shares declined 5.42% to Rs 3,301.10 while BSE fell 1.92% to Rs 3,595.40 on profit booking, KFin Technologies was biggest gainer rising 4.58% to Rs 901.05.
Other Q2 Highlights Today
State Bank of India standalone net profit up 14% to Rs 23,038 crore, gross NPAs declined to 1.39%, net NPAs 0.36%. Lenskart Solutions standalone PAT rises 69.3% to Rs 167.85 crore vs Rs 99.11 crore, revenue up. Sundaram Finance standalone PAT at Rs 475.07 crore, HUDCO standalone PAT up 28.3% to Rs 911.04 crore, Yatharth Hospitals profit up 17.45% to Rs 48.45 crore revenue Rs 431.42 crore, Northern Arc Capital profit up 41% to Rs 129 crore total income Rs 874 crore, Awfis Space Solutions profit up 92.8% to Rs 30.8 crore vs Rs 16 crore revenue up 19.6% to Rs 438.7 crore, Happiest Minds Technologies profit up 15.12% to Rs 62.19 crore vs Rs 54.02 crore revenue up 12.5% to Rs 645 crore, Bata India profit up 30.4% to Rs 18.11 crore, Zydus Life profit declines 62% YoY to Rs 714.5 crore shares down 2.5% to Rs 1,206.50, Biocon standalone PAT up 29%, KEC International profit plunges revenue falls 10% to Rs 5,468 crore.
Geopolitics – US Midterms, Qeshm Island Strike, Oil Volatility
Midterm Shock
US midterm elections vote counting underway, Democrats capturing control of US Congress from President Donald Trump’s Republicans, snaring majorities in both houses for rest of Trump’s second term, per Reuters. Indian markets assessed US midterm results and possibility of increased regulatory scrutiny, particularly for technology companies.
Oil Rises On War Uncertainty
Brent futures rose 82 cents or 0.8% to $104.42 a barrel at 0510 GMT Wednesday, WTI up 50 cents or 0.5% to $96.59, after Brent settled at lowest in nearly four weeks Tuesday as traders weighed talks to end wars in Ukraine and Iran. Brent had tumbled 7.6% Monday to $104.77 after optimism over US-Iran talks.
Qeshm Island Defensive Strike
US had carried out defensive strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island targeting surface-to-air missiles used against US assets, US official said Tuesday, another official said strikes appeared limited and did not signal return to major combat operations. Qeshm Island is largest island in Persian Gulf at mouth of Strait of Hormuz, key outlet for Gulf crude. US attacked Qeshm Monday night per Wall Street Journal.
No Immediate Plans
President Trump told Financial Times Tuesday US had no immediate plans to strike Iran, after signalling preference for diplomacy over renewed large-scale strikes, and mouthed no when asked if attacks would resume after midterms. Markets remain on watch for progress in talks to end US-Israeli war with Iran as Qatar stepped up mediation efforts to avert escalation after elections. Senior Iranian official told Reuters Tuesday Iran and US remain far from deal.
Crude Inventory
Crude stocks fell by 5.27 million barrels in week ended October 30 per American Petroleum Institute, official EIA data due at 10:30 AM EST Wednesday. Oil prices crossed $105 Tuesday after strike, Brent rose to nearly $107 recovering from 7% plunge previous day, WTI $98.15 up 1.75%.
Outlook
Nifty sustaining above Tuesday’s gap area of 23,440-23,482 will keep bias firmly positive and head towards 23,950-24,050 levels, said analysts. Nifty needs to trade below 23,700 for any bearishness to emerge, support at 50-day EMA 23,196, RSI at 66.59 indicating strong bullish momentum, though profit booking cannot be ruled out.
