Sensex, Nifty: Why Indian stock market is rising for 6th straight day; here are 5 reasons

Stock market indices Sensex and Nifty climbed, along with the broader market, for the sixth straight session today, on value buying and hopes the recent positive trend in foreign flows may sustain. The recent sharp recovery in rupee, and the fact that the US Fed sounded dovish last week and kept two rate cut hopes intact, boosted investor sentiment. Add to that was a rise in US index futures, which hinted at a firm start at Wall Street today.

The BSE Sensex was trading at 77,851.92, up 946.41 points or 1.23 per cent. The NSE Nifty stood at 23,610.10, up 259.70 points or 1.11 per cent. Investor wealth, as suggested by the BSE market capitalisation climbed Rs 4.7 lakh crore to Rs 4,17,99,605 crore today over Friday's Rs 4,13,30,624 crore.

Banking stocks led the largecap rally. Kotak Mahindra Bank shot up 4 per cent to Rs 2,168. It was followed by NTPC, Power Grid, Axis Bank and State Bank of India, which gained 2-4 per cent. Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Tech Mahindra also gained up to 2 per cent. A total of 2,768 out of 4,116 actively traded stocks advanced, while 1,160 shares declined.

Earlier today, rupee gained 12 paise to 85.86 against the dollar. Provisional data showed FPIs bought Rs 7,470.36 crore worth equities on Friday.

Trump administration has indicated that there might be some “flexibility” in terms of reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US, said  Kranthi Bathini, director of equity strategy at WealthMills Securities. Hopes of talks between China and US Presidents on tariff situation have also has positive impact on US equity markets, Bathini noted.

S&P500 futures were last up 0.66 per cent at 5,755.75. Dow Jones futures added 0.54 per cent to 42,548.

Emkay Global said the US President Trump has been clear about using tariffs as an economic sledgehammer for extracting deals. But he remained slightly vague about what those demands really are.

"For allies like Canada and Mexico, demand is mostly around extra vigilance on illegal immigration and drug trafficking, while for Europe and India, the US President could be eyeing significantly higher defence and energy exports. In most cases, the demand for reciprocate market access appears legitimate. We believe negotiations will offer the quickest and most measurable outcome with least risk of alienation," it said.

Meanwhile, oil prices declined to 3-year lows in early March, despite heightened sanctions on Russia and Iran. An early truce in the Russia-Ukraine war will be positive, said Kotak Institutional Equities.

"In our view, there is very little scope for OPEC+ to bring extra production, although it seems keen now. We lower our oil price assumptions to $70/bbl (from $80/bbl) for FY2026/27 and LT. We do not expect oil prices to remain below $70/bbl for longer, as if it happens, apart from OPEC+ taking production cuts, new investments in E&P (particularly in US shale) could also see a decline," Kotak said