Indian equity benchmarks record strongest weekly gains in over a year driven by foreign inflows

Mumbai: Indian equity benchmarks recorded their strongest weekly gains in over a year, rising over 8 per cent as easing global concerns, positive global cues, strong domestic fundamentals and a sharp turnaround in foreign investor flows powered a broad market rally.

Nifty added 8.58 per cent during the week and gained 2 per cent on the last trading day to reach 25,030. At close, Sensex was up 1,718 points, or 2.17 per cent, at 81,028. It gained 8.82 per cent during the week.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) recorded substantial net inflows of approximately Rs 45,960 crore during the week, marking a significant turnaround from the persistent selling trend.

Banking shares led the rally, with the Bank Nifty gaining about 8 per cent during the week. Financial services, private banks, realty and consumer durables were among the top-performing sectors.

“Dalal Street lit up ahead of Diwali. Indian equities logged one of their best weekly gains with the Nifty reclaiming 25,000 on a seven-session winning streak,” an analyst said.

“Strong Q2 earnings, healthy October auto sales and firm GST collections set the stage, but Washington supplied the spark,” he said, as the US midterm election verdict revived hopes of de-escalation in the Iran conflict and a softer line on tariffs.

Broad market indices performed in line with benchmark indices, as Nifty Midcap100 added 5.77 per cent and Nifty Smallcap100 advanced 2.77 per cent during the week.

The market even shrugged off an AI-led rout on Wall Street as investors treated India as a relatively safe harbour.

The Thursday selloff in the US erased roughly $3 trillion in market value from S&P 500 companies and the weakness spread quickly to Asia where technology-heavy markets recorded some of the region’s steepest losses in recent years.

Market sentiment was also supported by the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to leave interest rates unchanged and a sharp decline in crude oil prices. WTI crude retreated from above $104-$105 a barrel to around $90, while Brent eased to the $97-$98 range, with both benchmarks posting weekly declines of over 12 per cent.

US jobs data and next week's US CPI will shape Fed expectations, with officials still signalling further hikes, while investors are keen on domestic CPI print and the remaining Q2 results.