Market Cap Rises to ₹505 Lakh Cr; Experts Predict Strong Diwali Returns

Mumbai, November 8 – The brief Muhurat trading session on Friday left Indian equity indices largely unchanged. The Sensex slipped 28.02 points (‑0.04%) to close at 80,999.40, while the Nifty fell 43.95 points (‑0.18%) to settle at 24,986.40.

Investors gravitated toward mid‑cap and small‑cap stocks. The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 81.50 points, up 0.13% at 60,688.15, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 jumped 191.35 points, up 1.01% to 19,166.40.

Sectoral winners were Nifty Pharma, Media, Healthcare, India Defence, India Manufacturing, Energy, Metal, Oil & Gas, Commodities, Auto and PSE Generators. Underperformers included Real Estate, Private Bank, Financial Services, IT, Services, PSU Bank, Consumption and FMCG indices.

Among equities, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid, Adani Ports, BEL, Ultratech Cement, Eternal, Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies, Hindustan Unilever, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, ITC, Titan and Kotak Mahindra Bank recorded gains. Losses were logged by M&M, Indigo, Trent, Infosys, Bharat Airtel, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, L&T, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, SBI, TCS and Bajaj Finance.

Broad‑based buying pushed the total market capitalisation of all companies listed on the BSE up by ₹2 lakh crore, reaching ₹505 lakh crore.

Market insiders, extending Diwali wishes, observed that after two years of subdued activity, the combination of modest valuations and accelerating earnings could deliver strong investor returns ahead of the festival. They pointed to a potential decline in crude oil prices, a steady rupee, inflows from foreign investors, a waning AI frenzy and universal earnings growth as key drivers for future market upside.