The S&P BSE Sensex rose 43.27 points or 0.06% to 78,542.44, while the Nifty 50 index added 13.15 points or 0.05% to close at 24,583.80, according to latest provisional closing data. This marks the second consecutive session of gains for Indian equity markets, with investor sentiment remaining positive on easing geopolitical tensions in West Asia after Iran and Oman reached an understanding over a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. The market rally was led by gains in index heavyweights including Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Eternal, Bharat Electronics, Titan and Bharti Airtel, as reported by Business Standard. Reliance Industries alone contributed nearly 80 points to the Nifty's gains, rallying 3.43% during the session. State Bank of India also gained close to 3% ahead of its June-quarter earnings, helping financial stocks remain firmly in favour. In two consecutive sessions, the Sensex rose 1.33% while the Nifty climbed 1.29%, demonstrating sustained market momentum.
Reliance Industries emerged as the top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, rising 3.52% to close at ₹1,325, while other major contributors included State Bank of India (up 2.84%) and ICICI Bank (up 0.51%), as reported by Business Standard. These stocks contributed significantly to the benchmark indices' gains, with Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank among the key contributors to the market's upward movement. The banking sector showed strong performance with ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank among the top gainers, while L&T from the industrial sector also contributed to the market's upward movement. Power Grid emerged as the biggest drag on the benchmark after reporting weaker-than-expected June-quarter earnings, falling 3.99%. Bharti Airtel and select automobile stocks also weighed on the Nifty during the session.
Realty shares jumped after declining in the past two trading sessions, with the NIFTY Realty index surging 1.34% to 897.85, according to Business Standard. Brigade Enterprises gained 4.48%, DLF rose 2.65%, Godrej Properties advanced 1.93%, Phoenix Mills increased 1.85%, Oberoi Realty climbed 1.6%, Sobha added 1.17%, Aditya Birla Real Estate increased 0.73%, Prestige Estates Projects rose 0.64%, and Lodha Developers gained 0.19%. The sectoral performance reflects renewed investor interest after the recent decline, with defensive realty stocks attracting buying interest despite broader market weakness in technology and industrial sectors. Defence stocks continued to attract buyers, with Mazagon Dock, HAL, BDL and Cochin Shipyard gaining as much as 6%. Kalyan Jewellers rallied 5% in the second half of the session, while Tata Technologies jumped over 6% following reports of a fresh order win from Honda.
Broader markets ended mixed as NIFTY Midcap 150 index rose 0.17% and BSE 250 SmallCap Index jumped 0.04%, according to Business Standard. The market breadth was almost even with 2,227 shares rising and 2,222 shares falling on the BSE, while 209 shares remained unchanged. This divergence in performance across market capitalizations indicates selective investor interest, with smaller companies facing selling pressure while large-cap stocks benefited from heavyweight buying. Blue Star ended 6% lower after a weak quarterly performance, while BSE extended its decline, closing more than 3% lower alongside Angel One. Hero MotoCorp also witnessed profit booking ahead of its earnings announcement.
Since Monday (August 3, 2026), both benchmark indices have been facing divergence after stock exchanges introduced a new auction mechanism for shares having futures and options (F&O) contracts. The Closing Auction Session (CAS) in the equity cash segment became operational on Monday (August 3, 2026), introducing a new auction-based mechanism for determining the closing prices of eligible stocks. As per HST Wealth, the divergence between Sensex and Nifty is increasingly reflecting differences in market liquidity rather than a transitional anomaly, with institutional order flow concentrated more heavily in Nifty constituents than in the Sensex basket. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was marginally up by 0.09% at $79.52 per barrel, while markets drew support from the moderation in crude oil prices. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹943.42 crore on Wednesday (August 5, 2026), according to exchange data. For the latest completed session on Friday, August 7, FIIs were net buyers of ₹480.24 crore, while DIIs bought equities worth ₹235.56 crore on a net basis.
