Indian shares closed little changed in a special one-hour Diwali trading session on Sunday, pausing after a seven-session rally of more than 10% that was driven by a resurgence of foreign investment and a sharp fall in oil prices.
The benchmark Nifty 50 slipped 0.18% to 24,986.4 and the Sensex eased 0.04% to 80,999.4 in the Muhurat session, which marks the start of Samvat 2083, the new year in the Hindu calendar. The pause followed a run in which the benchmarks had climbed more than 10% over seven sessions to Friday, with the Nifty closing above 25,000 for the first time since February.
Foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth 459.61 billion rupees ($4.89 billion) over five sessions last week, according to exchange data, including their biggest single-day purchase in India in about six years on Thursday. The buying more than offset the 45,162 crore rupees foreign investors withdrew during October, and came after a ten-week spell of net selling.
The rally was helped by a sharp decline in crude oil prices after the US midterm election results, which eased worries about inflation, India’s import bill and pressure on the rupee. India imports about 85% of the crude it uses, so cheaper oil is a direct relief for Asia’s third-largest economy. “The recent decline in crude oil prices following the US midterm elections has eased concerns over inflation, India’s import bill and pressure on the rupee,” said Ravi Singh, chief research officer at Master Capital Services. He added that strong foreign buying, supportive global cues and better-than-expected September-quarter earnings had reinforced the rally.
Indian stocks also proved resilient while global technology shares sold off heavily. With limited exposure to the artificial intelligence trade that has driven Wall Street’s rout, domestic shares were insulated from the worst of the slide that pushed the Nasdaq into correction territory last week.
Seven of the 16 major sectoral indexes advanced in Sunday’s session. Small-cap shares rose 1% and mid-caps added 0.1%. The pharmaceutical index gained 1.7%, led by a 7.5% jump in Divi’s Laboratories after it reported a 64% year-on-year increase in quarterly profit. The metal index rose 0.4%, with Tata Steel advancing 2.1% after an 18% rise in operating profit. Domestic institutions, by contrast, sold shares worth 24,197 crore rupees during the week.
Raamdeo Agrawal, chairman and co-founder of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said the combination of relatively low valuations and strong earnings growth could position markets for “bumper returns” by next Diwali. Regular trading resumes on Monday, when investors will watch whether foreign buyers keep up the pace after the strongest weekly gains Indian benchmarks have posted since February 2021.
Sources: Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-shares-consolidate-diwali-session-after-seven-day-rally-2026-11-08/); exchange data reported by NSDL.
