Nifty crossed 24,500 and Sensex gained 2,070 points on Thursday as crude oil prices fell. Bajaj Finance led the rally, surging 7.26 per cent. Rajesh Singla, CEO of Alpha AMC, said, “investors should prioritise domestic fundamentals.” Many stocks advanced as foreign investors continued to pour money into domestic equities today.
Markets surged to their strongest session in months by early afternoon on Thursday, with the Sensex climbing 2,070 points, or 2.68 per cent, to 79,371.40 and the Nifty 50 rising 596.20 points, or 2.49 per cent, to 24,556.80 as of 2 pm, as crude oil prices extended their steep decline and foreign institutional investors continued to pour money into domestic equities.
The Sensex had closed Wednesday at 77,301.40 and opened at 78,910.94, while the Nifty, which ended the previous session at 23,960.60, opened at 24,378.05, with the index decisively reclaiming its 20-, 50-, 100- and 200-day exponential moving averages in a single session.
Of 4,543 stocks traded on the BSE, 3,032 advanced and 1,324 declined, with 187 unchanged. A total of 117 stocks hit 52-week highs against 60 touching 52-week lows, while 213 stocks were locked in upper circuits and 152 in lower circuits, indicating strong but not entirely uniform breadth.
Bajaj Finance led Nifty 50 gainers, surging 7.26 per cent to ₹1,066.20 on volume of 227.15 lakh shares worth ₹2,380.71 crore. Shriram Finance rose 6.77 per cent to ₹970.25, while Tata Motors’ preferred variant (TMPV) climbed 6.09 per cent to ₹295.45. Mahindra & Mahindra gained 5.89 per cent to ₹3,136.40 on turnover of ₹1,697.68 crore, and IndiGo advanced 5.86 per cent to ₹5,442.20.
On the losing side, Apollo Hospitals fell the most among Nifty 50 stocks, dropping 2.70 per cent to ₹8,367. ONGC declined 2.20 per cent to ₹229.84 on volume of 129.35 lakh shares worth ₹297.74 crore. NTPC slipped 1.34 per cent to ₹317.65, Coal India fell 1.05 per cent to ₹395.45, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories shed 1.04 per cent to ₹1,359.70.
The principal driver remained the sharp fall in global crude oil prices. Brent crude settled 8.7 per cent lower at $94.62 on Wednesday, extending its decline after comments by US Vice President JD Vance linking Republican midterm losses to the Iran war fuelled expectations of diplomatic engagement. WTI crude was trading around $86.81, down 1.41 per cent, extending four consecutive sessions of losses. MCX Crude Oil was trading around ₹8,210, down 1.84 per cent, with the next support seen at ₹7,700–7,800.
Rajesh Singla, CEO of Alpha AMC, said the market’s resilience reflected domestic fundamentals rather than foreign political events. “FII flows, crude oil prices, currency movements, and corporate earnings will remain the key determinants of market direction,” he said, adding that “investors should prioritise domestic fundamentals over short-term reactions to political developments.”
Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, noted that WTI crude trading in the $86–87 range and the rupee strengthening to around 94.4 against the dollar were providing a “more favourable macroeconomic setting” for domestic equities. The USD/INR pair was trading at 94.49, down 0.15 per cent, reflecting its fourth straight session of gains for the rupee, supported by a dollar index hovering near a one-month low of around 101.5.
Foreign institutional investors bought ₹7,284 crore in equities in the previous session, their fourth straight day of net purchases, taking their November tally to approximately ₹17,236 crore over the first three trading sessions of the month. Domestic institutional investors sold ₹3,712 crore over the same period.
Singla flagged Israel’s inconclusive election as a secondary risk to watch. “Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats and the opposition 48, leaving no side with a majority, so coalition talks could run long,” he said. “For India, that matters mainly through crude and West Asia sentiment.” He added that “neither event should dent the domestic story of earnings and steady FPI buying.”
In commodities, COMEX Gold rose 1.83 per cent to around $4,147 per ounce, with MCX Gold trading at ₹145,680, up 1.71 per cent, though rupee appreciation was partially limiting domestic gains. COMEX Silver climbed 1.75 per cent to $53.20, with the gold-silver ratio narrowing to 77.2 from 78.8. MCX Silver gained 1.55 per cent to ₹190,640.
Bank Nifty, which had closed at 55,913.60 on Wednesday, opened sharply higher near 57,103, trading above all key moving averages. Immediate resistance was placed at 57,100–57,200, with support at 56,200–56,000.
On the US political backdrop, Singla noted that the Democratic sweep “creates a divided political environment for President Donald Trump” and that “policy uncertainty will remain an important consideration” for Indian exporters and IT companies, a concern reflected in IT remaining the session’s key sectoral laggard for the second consecutive day.