Dalal Street has just delivered the kind of week traders will talk about for a while. The BSE Sensex jumped 5,336 points, or around 7 per cent, this week to close at 81,028.02, while the Nifty 50 gained 1,589 points, roughly 6 per cent, to settle at 25,030.35. Both indices rose for seven sessions in a row, just before the Diwali weekend.
What makes the week stand out is not just the size of the gains. Global markets were falling at the same time, with Wall Street hit by a sharp sell-off in artificial intelligence stocks and Brent crude climbing back above $100 a barrel. Indian shares went the other way, and they did it for seven straight sessions.
Three forces behind the rally
The first force was a strange twist in the global AI story. After the Democrats won control of the US Congress in the midterm elections, investors began to worry about stricter AI regulation in America, and AI-linked stocks on Wall Street tumbled. That fear pushed money towards Indian technology stocks instead.
Indian IT companies have a different profile from their American counterparts. Firms such as Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and TCS earn most of their money from traditional enterprise IT services, not from selling the expensive hardware that powers AI data centres. When Wall Street punished AI hardware names, Indian IT stocks held their ground and closed the week in the green.
The second force was foreign money coming back. Foreign institutional investors, who had sold heavily in the first half of October and through September, turned buyers again this week. They net bought Indian shares worth Rs 31,786.57 crore during the week, a sharp reversal that gave the rally its backbone. According to market reports, foreign investors have now put about Rs 55,000 crore into Indian equities over the last 14 trading sessions.
The third force was earnings. The September quarter results season has been strong, led by banks and non-banking financial companies. Bharti Airtel reported a 30.9 per cent rise in net profit, Titan’s profit doubled in the quarter, and several large lenders posted solid numbers. Strong results gave domestic investors a reason to buy even as global headlines turned negative.
Winners of the week
According to Tickertape data, the week’s strongest stocks included Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance and Titan. Mahindra and Mahindra jumped more than 6 per cent on Friday alone after a strong second quarter and positive brokerage outlooks.
Banking and finance emerged as the best performing sector of the week, with private banks and cement stocks among Friday’s top gainers. The Nifty Midcap 100 ended flat, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 closed lower, a reminder that the rally was led by large, well known names rather than the broader market.
In fact, market breadth on Friday was in the red. Of the 2,872 stocks traded, only 1,037 closed higher while 1,769 ended lower. The India VIX, the market’s fear gauge, also rose 13.4 per cent to 17.7, which suggests traders are still hedging against sudden moves.
Why oil did not spoil the party
Brent crude climbing back above $100 a barrel would normally worry Indian investors, since India imports most of its oil. This week, the market largely brushed it off, as cheaper oil earlier in the week, the return of foreign buying and the strong earnings season mattered more than the late rise in crude prices.
What investors should watch next
- Foreign flows: the rally depends heavily on foreign investors staying buyers. If the flows reverse, the gains could unwind quickly.
- Crude oil: Brent above $100 is a risk for an oil importing economy, and any further spike could pressure the rupee and inflation.
- US data: the US employment report due later on Friday will shape global sentiment when markets reopen after the Diwali weekend.
- Earnings: the rest of the September quarter results will test whether the strong numbers seen so far hold up across sectors.
One strong week does not settle the longer term picture. The Sensex is now above 81,000 and the Nifty has crossed 25,000, levels that will be watched closely when trading resumes after Diwali.
FAQs
How much did the Sensex gain this week?
The Sensex jumped 5,336 points, or around 7 per cent, to close at 81,028.02 on Friday, November 6, 2026.
Where did the Nifty 50 close?
The Nifty 50 gained 1,589 points, roughly 6 per cent, over the week to settle at 25,030.35.
How many sessions did the rally last?
Indian indices rose for seven consecutive sessions, even as global markets fell after the US midterm elections.
How much did foreign investors buy this week?
Foreign institutional investors net bought Indian shares worth Rs 31,786.57 crore during the week, reversing heavy selling in September and early October.
Why did Indian IT stocks rise while US tech fell?
US AI stocks fell on fears of stricter regulation after the Democrats won the US Congress. Indian IT firms focus on traditional enterprise services rather than AI hardware, so investors treated them as a safer alternative.
Markets reopen after the Diwali weekend, and traders will watch foreign flows, crude oil and the next quarterly results to see whether this week’s momentum holds.
