Indian shares inch higher to close at 8-month high as crude oil drops

Indian share benchmarks inched higher to close at their highest levels in over eight months on Monday, as they showed signs of consolidation after last week’s rally fuelled by falling crude prices and optimism over foreign inflows.

Brent crude futures fell 1% to about $97 per barrel, after US President Donald Trump said he was highly unlikely to order fresh attacks on Iran while talks to end the conflict progress.

The Nifty 50 rose 0.23% to 25,044.65 and Sensex added 0.13% to 81,106.65, respectively. This was their highest close since February 27, 2026.

Markets will be closed for Diwali on Tuesday and reopen Wednesday.

The benchmarks surged about 10.5% over seven sessions through Friday, their longest winning streak this year, driven by strong foreign inflows, falling oil prices and an unwinding of the global AI trade.

The rally has also drawn fresh support from global brokerages. Citi raised its end-2027 Nifty target to 28,000, implying about 12% upside from the index’s last close, while HSBC upgraded India to “overweight” from “neutral.”

Foreign investors havebought Indian shares worth over $4.1 billion so far in November, already their biggest monthly inflows since September 2024.

“After the recent sharp rally, some consolidation cannot be ruled out at higher levels and stock-specific action will continue to remain in focus in the near term,” said Pabitro Mukherjee, deputy vice president of research at Bajaj Broking, adding that the ongoing earnings season will be the key trigger.

Thirteen of the 16 major sectors ended higher. The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose 0.1% and 0.6%, respectively.

Asian markets rose after a wild week where doubts about demand for computer chips sent tech-heavy markets in Asia into some of their steepest falls in years.

Among stocks, Divi’s Laboratories rose 4.2%, extending 7.5% jump in the special Diwali session on Sunday, while Gland Pharma gained 4.9% after upbeat quarterly results.

Divi’s and Gland Pharma lifted pharma index .NIPHARM up 1.7%.

Information technology stocks fell 1.2%, while heavyweight financials rose 0.8% on the day.