SENSEX, Nifty surge up to 2% each. US Midterms, Declining Crude Oil Prices one of the key reasons

5 Nov 2026 , 11:43 AM

Dalal street witnessed a great start on Thursday. The Sensex a surged of 1609.54 points or 2.08%, to trade at 78,910.94 and Nifty50 shot up 417.45 points or 1.74%, to 24,378.05. This is the sixth consecutive day of positive movement.

With the market rising over 4000 points (or around 5%) in five sessions up to Wednesday, the gain today has increased investor wealth by over Rs 6.9 lakh crore.

But what is causing this surge? Here are the top 5 reasons:

1. Crude Oil Prices Slump

Crude was the main driver today, with Brent crude oil falling below $95 a barrel, to about $94.12 and WTI falling to around $87.51. This comes after crude oil saw falls of over 8% on Wednesday, taking the benchmarks to two month lows.

As India imports the majority of its crude oil, this means that lower prices will be advantageous almost across the board. Cheaper oil will reduce our import bill, reduce inflationary pressures and provide a stable rupee. As such, crude oil prices often have quite a dramatic impact on Indian markets.

2. Positive Sentiment from US Midterm Results

On the global front, the Democrats picked up both the Senate and House in the US midterms. This shows markets that there could be pressure to end the war between the US and Israel with Iran. This means that trade and tariff policies could become more measured. This reduces uncertainty surrounding crude oil prices, and risk appetite in general.

3. Return of Foreign Institutions Investors

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) invested around Rs 72.84 Billion in Indian equities on Wednesday. This is the fourth consecutive day of net investment. Since the start of November, they’ve invested around Rs 17,235 crore.

However, they’re still concerned about the LTCG tax meaning we cannot be certain it will be a long term shift.

4. Rupee Appreciates

The Rupee opened at around 94.35 against the dollar, seeing a two week high in the fifth consecutive positive day. The dollar index fell 0.53% to 101.18. A stronger Rupee means cheaper imports and usually attracts foreign investment.

5. Broad Based Movement

Fourteen of the sixteen major sectors are trading in positive. The Nifty Midcap 100 was up 1.46% and the Smallcap 100 was up 1.49%.

Best Performing Sectors

• Private Banks (+2.55%)
• Realty (+1.92%)
• IT (+1.72%)
• Auto (+1.66%)

Best Performing Sensex Stocks

• Bajaj Finance (+5.33%)
• Maruti (+4.94%)
• IndiGo (+4.88%)
• Asian Paints (+4.39%)
• M&M (+3.89%)
• Infosys (+3.67%)

This shows us that interest rate sensitive sectors, such as private banks, realty and auto are performing well, as well as IndiGo showing us how important cheaper fuel prices are for Airlines.

What to Watch Next?

Some of the factors driving the market today could easily go the other way. Crude oil is volatile, foreign investment can shift very quickly, and geopolitical events are hard to predict. After six consecutive winning days, you might expect some profit taking.

Watch out for Brent, FII investment and the rupee in the coming sessions.