Key points
- The Sensex rose 107.25 points to 81,106.65 and the Nifty 58.25 points to 25,044.65, both at their highest closing levels since February 27.
- The Nifty PSU Bank index gained about 3.7%, with State Bank of India up 2.56%.
- Foreign investors have bought more than $4.1 billion of Indian shares in November, the strongest month since September 2024.
Indian shares ended Monday at levels last seen in February, as buying in public sector banks and cheaper oil kept the recovery going into the Diwali break. The Sensex rose 107.25 points, or 0.13%, to 81,106.65, and the Nifty 50 gained 58.25 points, or 0.23%, to 25,044.65. Both closed at their highest since February 27, 2026. The Sensex touched 81,339.41 during the session, up 340 points at its best.
The exchanges are shut today, Tuesday, November 10, for Diwali-Balipratipada, and reopen on Wednesday, November 11 at the usual 9:15 am.
Banks lead, breadth weak
The Nifty PSU Bank index jumped about 3.7%, the best of any sector group. State Bank of India rose 2.56% and was among the top gainers on the Sensex, with Trent, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. The Bankex gained 1.41%, private banks 0.85% and the healthcare index 1.10%.
Tata Steel, HCL Technologies, UltraTech Cement and Bajaj Finance were the main drags, and the telecom, IT, metal and FMCG indices lagged. More stocks fell than rose on the NSE. The BSE MidCap Select index rose 0.34% and the SmallCap Select 0.07%.
Tata Steel’s fall came two days after it reported a 18% rise in quarterly profit to ₹3,666 crore, with its loss-making UK unit still a drag.
How the rally got here
The move extends a recovery that has taken the Sensex up about 8.8% and the Nifty about 8.6% over the past week, a rise of roughly 10.5% over seven sessions by one count. Friday’s session was a Dhanteras rally of more than 1,700 points for the Sensex, and the rupee then had its strongest close since April at 93.89 to the dollar.
The money behind it is foreign. Overseas investors have bought more than $4.1 billion of Indian shares so far in November, their strongest monthly inflow since September 2024. On November 5 alone they put in about ₹14,975 crore while domestic funds sold.
Oil helped. Brent crude was down about 1% to nearly 1.4% on the day at between $96.93 and $97.46 a barrel during Asian hours, and it fell further in New York, to below $93, after Monday’s close in Mumbai. Lower crude eases India’s import bill and inflation.
What analysts said
Vinod Nair of Geojit Investments said the market was range-bound with a positive bias, and expected upgrades to FY27 earnings estimates to support sentiment. Ponmudi R of Enrich Money pointed to steady crude prices, a firm rupee and sustained foreign buying. Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal Financial Services expects consolidation in the near term, with US October consumer price data and the possibility of a December Fed rate hike as the main drivers.
What happens next
The first test is Wednesday’s open. The GIFT Nifty contract traded at 25,058 on Monday, about 13 points above the Nifty’s close, which points to a flat start, though the overnight rally on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 gained 2.35%, has yet to be priced in.
The bigger event is October retail inflation on Thursday, November 12. September’s reading was 5.54%, the highest of 2026, and the Reserve Bank of India’s committee has said it expects inflation to reach 6.0% in the October to December quarter. Economists quoted after the September figure expected another rate hike in December, as we reported in our inflation story. Fresh liquidity moves from the central bank were also in view on Monday, when it lent banks ₹50,003 crore for four days.
The next market holiday after today is November 24, for Guru Nanak Gurpurab.