The Nifty 50 rose 8.58% in the week ended Friday 6 November 2026, closing at 25,030.35, its first close above 25,000 since 27 February. The Sensex gained 8.82% to 81,028.02. Foreign investors, who had sold Indian shares heavily for most of the year, bought a net ₹38,971 crore of Indian equities in November's first days, according to NSDL, including the largest single-day purchase in nearly six years on Thursday. Zee Business described it as the market's best week since February 2021.

For investors with equity mutual funds or SIPs, the week reversed part of October's losses. It does not undo the year: the Nifty is still below its February level, and foreign investors remain large net sellers for 2026.

The week in numbers

DateNifty 50 closeDaily change
Friday 30 October23,053.10
Monday 2 November23,440.80+1.68%
Tuesday 3 November23,810.85+1.58%
Wednesday 4 November23,960.60+0.63%
Thursday 5 November24,536.60+2.40%
Friday 6 November25,030.35+2.01%
  • Weekly change: The Nifty 50 rose 1,977.25 points (8.58%). The Sensex rose from 74,459.53 to 81,028.02, a gain of 6,568.49 points (8.82%). The Nifty has now risen for seven sessions in a row.
  • Sectors: The Nifty Bank index rose 8.04% and the Nifty Midcap 100 5.77%. The Nifty IT index rose only 1.14%.
  • Leaders: HDFC Bank gained 13.8% for the week and ICICI Bank 12.4%, Moneycontrol reported.

Foreign investors return

NSDL puts net foreign portfolio investment in Indian equities at ₹38,971 crore for November in its report dated 6 November. NSDL records trades on the next reporting day, so that figure covers trades up to Thursday 5 November and does not yet include Friday. The same table shows net selling of ₹34,843 crore in October and a net outflow of ₹2,56,174 crore for 2026 so far. One strong week has recovered October's outflow, but not the year's.

The two biggest days came at the end of the week. On Thursday, foreign investors bought a net ₹14,974.68 crore of shares on the exchanges, according to provisional data reported by Moneycontrol. Reuters reported that it was the largest single-day foreign buying since 24 February 2021. On Friday they bought a further ₹13,749.82 crore, according to NSE's provisional data, while domestic institutions, including mutual funds, were net sellers of ₹5,968.70 crore, taking profits as foreign money came in.

Exchange provisional figures and NSDL figures are compiled differently and often do not match, so the two series should not be added together.

Why the buying came

Reports pointed to three causes.

  • Oil fell sharply. Brent crude was trading near $98.55 a barrel on Friday afternoon, down from a peak of about $118 on 30 October, putting it on course for its steepest weekly fall since early 2020, Reuters reported. Brent dropped 8% on Wednesday alone, as US midterm election results raised hopes of de-escalation in the Iran war. India imports most of its oil, so cheaper crude eases pressure on inflation, the rupee and company costs. Other reports gave smaller figures for the weekly fall, depending on when it was measured.
  • Money moved out of AI-heavy markets. A sharp sell-off in artificial intelligence and technology shares in the US and Asia led global funds to move money into India, partly because its market has little exposure to AI stocks, Reuters reported.
  • The rupee strengthened. The rupee closed at a provisional 93.89 per dollar on Friday, against 94.93 on 30 October, a gain of about 1.1% for the week, according to PTI. A firmer rupee raises the dollar value of foreign investors' Indian holdings.

Not every factor was supportive. The US Federal Reserve held its policy rate at 3.75% to 4.00% on 28 October, but two of its members dissented in favour of a rate hike. The US 10-year Treasury yield eased to about 4.83% by Friday, Moneycontrol reported.

September-quarter results have also helped. Of the 35 Nifty companies that had reported by 5 November, combined earnings were up 22% from a year earlier, against Motilal Oswal's estimate of 20%, Business Today reported. Reliance, JSW Steel, ICICI Bank, Coal India and Axis Bank accounted for 59% of the increase.

What analysts are watching

Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking said the Nifty needs to hold 24,500, Moneycontrol reported. Vatsal Bhuva of LKP Securities noted that the Nifty's relative strength index (RSI), a momentum measure, had reached 74.57, a level traders usually read as overbought. Neither comment is a forecast. The rally depends heavily on oil prices and war-related news, which can reverse quickly.

What it means for mutual fund investors

These are facts about how mutual funds work, not investment advice.

  • NAVs rose with the market. Equity fund net asset values (NAVs) track the shares the funds hold. A large-cap fund would have risen broadly in line with the Nifty this week; a mid-cap fund would have gained less, since the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 5.77%.
  • SIP instalments bought fewer units. A SIP instalment buys units at the day's NAV, so the same amount buys fewer units after a rise than after a fall. The value of the units already held goes up.
  • Loans against mutual funds. For investors who have pledged mutual fund units as collateral, the available loan limit is a percentage of the current value of those units, so it rises and falls with NAVs.

Also this week

SEBI pushes direct plans as the default

Direct mutual fund plans became the default option on fund houses' own websites and apps from 1 November, following an announcement by SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on 28 October, Cafemutual and Moneylife reported. Direct plans carry a lower expense ratio because no distributor commission is paid from them. Regular plans remain available, including through distributors, and investors who choose them are to be told about the higher expense ratio.

No SEBI circular or press release on the change had been published by 6 November, so the exact rules, including whether they reach distributor and third-party apps, are not yet clear. Existing regular-plan SIPs do not convert to direct automatically. Moving to a direct plan is a switch, which counts as a redemption and a fresh purchase and can attract exit load and capital gains tax. Units under a lien, such as units pledged for a loan, cannot be switched or redeemed until the lender releases the lien.

Separately, SEBI issued a circular on 5 November allowing a mutual fund scheme to net its own purchase and sale obligations in the cash market, from 1 April 2027. Netting across schemes is not allowed. The change affects fund operations rather than investors' transactions.

Banks raise fixed deposit rates

Several large banks raised deposit rates this week, a month after the RBI's 25-basis-point repo rate increase to 5.50% on 7 October.

  • HDFC Bank (from 4 November): 61 to 90 days at 4.75%, and 5 years 1 day to 10 years at 6.60%, according to its rate page. An Upstox comparison published after the October repo hike listed HDFC Bank at 4.25% for 46 to 90 days and 6.15% for 5 to 10 years. The one-year rate is unchanged at 6.25%.
  • Punjab National Bank (from 5 November): 46 to 90 days at 5.50%, up from 4.50% in the Upstox table, 444 days at 6.70% and 680 days at 6.80%.
  • ICICI Bank (from 6 November): 3 to 10 years at 6.60%, up from 6.50%.

These rates apply to deposits below ₹3 crore for general customers; senior citizens usually get more. Interest on FDs is taxed at the depositor's income tax slab rate.

Gold slips on Dhanteras

Gold fell on Dhanteras, Friday 6 November. The India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) rate for 24-carat (999) gold closed at ₹1,41,452 per 10 grams, down ₹2,677 from Thursday's close. IBJA rates exclude 3% GST and making charges. Silver closed at ₹1,82,868 per kg.

In Delhi, the All India Sarafa Association quoted gold at ₹1,46,300 per 10 grams including taxes, down ₹2,500, with traders describing demand as muted, PTI reported. That is about 20% below the record ₹1.83 lakh reached on 29 January 2026. Jewellery buyers pay more than either benchmark once making charges are added.

UPI sets a monthly record

UPI handled 25,466.70 million transactions worth ₹31,52,929.46 crore in October, according to NPCI. It was a record for monthly value, and the first month in which UPI averaged more than ₹1 lakh crore a day. NPCI said on 13 October that the 0.4% merchant fee on select merchant payments above ₹2,000 "shall be implemented immediately post Diwali on a date to be notified separately". The fee is paid by the merchant, not the customer. No date had been announced by 6 November.

LIC shares fall after results

LIC reported a September-quarter net profit of ₹12,076 crore, up about 20% from a year earlier, on 5 November. The value of new business, a measure of the profitability of new policies, was ₹6,846 crore for the half-year at a 22.3% margin. The shares fell about 4% on Friday as the value of new business missed analysts' estimates, Business Standard reported.

Coming up

  • Sunday 8 November: Diwali Muhurat trading, with NSE equity trading from 2:20 pm to 3:30 pm. BlinkMoney has published a separate explainer on the session's timings and settlement.
  • Tuesday 10 November: Stock market holiday for Diwali-Balipratipada. Markets reopen on 11 November.
  • In the coming days: AMFI's mutual fund data for October, including SIP contributions.
  • 21 November: Last date to file income tax returns for taxpayers whose accounts need an audit, for assessment year 2026-27. CBDT extended it from 31 October in September.