Sensex Jumps 773 Points and Nifty Closes at 25,255 After Diwali Break as Foreign Buying Lifts Banks and Autos

India's benchmark stock indices rose nearly 1% on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, as trading resumed after the Diwali Balipratipada holiday, helped by foreign fund inflows, better-than-expected September-quarter earnings and lower crude oil prices. The BSE Sensex gained 772.75 points, or 0.95%, to close at 81,879.40, while the NSE Nifty 50 rose 210.40 points, or 0.84%, to 25,255.05, PTI reported in The Hindu.

Both indices posted their highest close since Feb. 26 and have gained nearly 10% so far in November, outperforming emerging-market peers, according to Reuters, via Business Recorder. Domestic markets were closed on Tuesday, Nov. 10, for the holiday.

Gap-up open, then trimmed gains

Markets opened sharply higher, with the Nifty starting near 25,338, before giving back some gains in the morning session, BusinessLine reported. The Sensex touched an intraday high of 82,520.40, up 1,413.75 points or 1.74%, before paring the advance. As of 3 p.m. India time, the Sensex was up 587.47 points at 81,694.12, according to Business Standard's live coverage, before it firmed into the close.

The Hindu said the indices extended their winning streak to a ninth consecutive regular trading session, excluding the special Diwali Muhurat trading session, which ended marginally lower. On Monday, Nov. 9, the Sensex rose 107.25 points to 81,106.65 and the Nifty added 58.25 points to 25,044.65.

Gainers and laggards

Among the 30 Sensex stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra jumped 5.25%, InterGlobe Aviation rose 4.37%, Trent gained 3.02%, Tata Steel added 2.22%, ITC rose 2.15% and Axis Bank climbed 2.14%, according to PTI. Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.

Thirteen of 16 major sectors advanced, Reuters reported. Heavyweight banks rose 1.8%, bringing their gain for the month to 11.2%, with HDFC Bank up 1.1% and State Bank of India up 1.8%. Auto stocks rose 2.1% on festival-season sales optimism and easing U.S.-Iran tensions. The Nifty PSU Bank index gained nearly 3%, the most among sectoral gauges, while Nifty IT and Nifty Healthcare underperformed, Business Standard said. Moneycontrol reported that all Nifty sectoral indices ended higher except pharma, IT and realty.

Broader markets outperformed. The Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 1.59% and the Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.81%. In individual stocks, IIFL Finance jumped 6.3% after Blackstone agreed to buy a stake of about 16% in the non-bank lender, according to Reuters, and Moneycontrol reported that Ashoka Buildcon shares surged 14% after it received a ₹866 crore order from the National Highways Authority of India for the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway.

Foreign flows, oil and the rupee

Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth ₹7,212.22 crore on Monday, Nov. 9, according to exchange data cited by PTI. Moneycontrol said foreign portfolio investors made net investments of ₹53,739 crore in Indian equities between Nov. 2 and Nov. 9, across six trading sessions, though cumulative foreign outflows for 2026 still stood at ₹2.41 lakh crore. Reuters said foreign investors have put nearly $6 billion into Indian stocks in November, the biggest monthly purchase since September 2024.

V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, tied the shift in flows to a selloff in global AI-linked stocks driven by concerns about U.S. data center spending after Democrats won both chambers of Congress, Moneycontrol reported. Reuters said India is being seen as an alternative destination as investors question heavy AI spending.

Brent crude futures hit a two-month low of $89.16 a barrel on Tuesday after U.S. officials played down the need for further military action against Iran, and hovered around $93 on Wednesday, according to Reuters. India is the world's third-largest energy importer. The rupee strengthened 7 paise to 93.70 against the U.S. dollar, Moneycontrol said.

Brokerage targets and levels

Bernstein analysts Venugopal Garre and Nikhil Arela raised their December target for the Nifty 50 to 26,100 from 25,000, Reuters reported, citing the U.S. midterm results and President Donald Trump's statement that the Iran war is "effectively over." Reuters said HSBC and Citi have expressed similar optimism. Sudeep Shah, head of technical and derivatives research at SBI Securities, told Moneycontrol that the 25,070-25,100 zone is immediate support for the Nifty, while 25,400-25,430 is a key resistance area.