Sensex jumps 1,718 points ahead of Muhurat trading; Nifty back above 25,000

Indian shares had their best day in months on Friday, 6 November, ahead of the Diwali Muhurat trading session. The BSE Sensex rose 1,718 points, or 2.17%, to close at 81,028.02, and the NSE Nifty gained 2.01% to 25,030.35, its seventh rise in a row and its first close above 25,000 since 27 February.

Three things drove the rally. Foreign investors bought Indian shares worth about ₹14,975 crore on 5 November, by one account their biggest single-day purchase in nearly six years. Brent crude fell 1.5% to about $96.82 a barrel, easing worries over India’s import bill. And strong September-quarter results, along with a firmer rupee, lifted sentiment; Mahindra & Mahindra was the top gainer, up 6.15% after a 25% rise in quarterly profit.

The gains were concentrated in large companies, particularly private banks and financial services. They also came against the global tide: markets abroad were hit by a sell-off as investors pulled back from stocks tied to artificial intelligence, and analysts said Indian shares were being treated as a relatively safe place. A rise in volatility gauges, though, shows that investors remain nervous.

Muhurat trading on Sunday

Both exchanges will hold the one-hour Muhurat trading session on Sunday, 8 November, from 2.20 p.m. to 3.30 p.m., with futures and options trading until 3.40 p.m. The session marks the start of Samvat 2083, the Hindu new year for many trading communities, and is traditionally a time for token purchases. The Nifty is still about 3% below where it closed in last year’s Muhurat session, 25,868.60.

What’s next

Markets will be shut on Tuesday, 10 November, for Diwali Balipratipada. October’s consumer inflation figure, due on 12 November, is the next big signal: the rating agency ICRA expects it at about 6.1%.