The Indian stock markets witnessed a strong rally on May 6, with both benchmark indices posting significant gains. According to reports from CNBC TV18 and Times Now India, the 30-share BSE Sensex zoomed 941 points or 1.22 per cent to close at 77,958.52, while the NSE Nifty50 gained 298.15 points or 1.24 per cent to end at 24,330.95, reclaiming the 24,300 mark. This positive momentum was driven by reports of the US nearing a deal with Iran to end the war, which lifted market sentiment across all segments. The rally was led by financial heavyweights, Bharti Airtel and Mahindra & Mahindra, with broader markets outperforming the benchmarks as the NSE advance-decline ratio stood at 3:1. As per Upstox Securities, the drop in crude lifted investor confidence in the afternoon trading towards equities, with all major sector gauges ending higher led by the NIFTY PSU Bank index's nearly 3% gain. At the closing bell, Indigo (+6.72%), Trent (+4.09%), and Asian Paint (+3.81%) were the biggest gainers, while Reliance (-1.72%), HCL Tech (-0.78%), and ITC (-0.27%) lost momentum.
The market rally showed broad-based participation across sectors, with the Nifty Bank index climbing 1,434 points to 55,981 and the Midcap index advancing 1,062 points to 61,323. From the Sensex basket, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd, Shriram Finance Ltd, Trent Ltd, Asian Paints Ltd and Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd emerged as major gainers. On the downside, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd, Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, NTPC Ltd and Hindustan Unilever Ltd were the biggest laggards. Among individual stocks, InterGlobe Aviation emerged as the top Nifty gainer, rising more than 6% in trade, while Coforge was the top midcap performer, surging 10% after its strong fourth-quarter results. Wockhardt extended gains from the previous session and jumped 13%, while Firstsource rose 12% and Arvind Fashions gained 10%, both after their quarterly results. According to Times Now India, all indices closed in positive territory except for power, FMCG, and energy, with gains led by auto, media, private banks, PSU banks, realty, metals, and pharma stocks which rose between 1 per cent and 2 per cent.
Commodity markets showed mixed movements during the trading session, with Brent Crude standing at USD 101.01, down by USD 8.88 or 8.08 per cent at the closing bell, while Crude Oil settled at USD 92.59, down by 9.69 or 9 per cent. Earlier in the session, Brent crude traded at USD 108.02 and West Texas Intermediate at USD 100.39 during morning hours. Meanwhile, Gold rose to USD 4,698.15, up by USD 144.17, or 3.13 per cent, reflecting strong demand for precious metals. The drop in crude prices specifically lifted investor confidence in the afternoon trading towards equities, as reported by Upstox Securities. The positive commodity movements, particularly the decline in oil prices, supported the broader market rally and contributed to the sustained positive sentiment across Indian equities.
Asian markets provided positive cues for Indian equities, with regional indices predominantly trading in green territory. The KOSPI surged 6.64 per cent to 7,397.76, highlighting strong performance in the South Korean market. Other regional indices also posted gains, including the Shanghai Composite up 1.27 per cent and the Hang Seng rising 0.64 per cent. More modest growth was observed in the Taiwan Weighted index (0.57 per cent), the Jakarta Composite (0.77 per cent) and the Straits Times (0.12 per cent), while the Nikkei 225 remained at 59,513.12 with a 0.38 per cent increase. The positive global sentiment, particularly from Asian markets, supported the sustained rally in Indian equities and contributed to the broad-based participation across sectors.
The rally was supported by multiple positive factors that contributed to the strong market performance. As reported by CNBC TV18 and Times Now India, the positive trend was driven by reports of the US nearing a deal with Iran to end the war, which lifted market sentiment across all segments. According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, "Domestic markets rallied on a risk-on sentiment, driven by easing US–Iran tensions and China's diplomatic engagement, which helped contain crude prices, though the trend remains headline-sensitive." The market's ability to sustain these gains across both major indices and broader markets suggests that underlying demand remains robust despite current market conditions, with investors showing willingness to take on risk in the current environment. Oil-linked shares saw divergent moves after Brent crude fell below $102 per barrel, with downstream oil companies gaining while upstream oil companies slipped. The drop in crude prices specifically lifted investor confidence in the afternoon trading towards equities, as reported by Upstox Securities.
