Sensex up 10.6% in 7-session pre-Diwali rally, best in 35 yrs

MUMBAI: In one of the best weekly gains in recent times, sensex closed over 8.8% up as foreign funds came back to buy Indian stocks, as the US midterm polls raised hopes of policy stability, and also of a diplomatic resolution to the war in West Asia, which pulled down crude prices by about 20% in less than two weeks. In fact, the Sensex's seven-session pre-Diwali rally, during which it notched up a 10.6% gain, was also its best such run in 35 years. On Friday, the index gained 1,781 points, its third consecutive session of four-figure point gain, despite an overnight crash in the US market, led by a rout in AI stocks. During its seven-session rally, the sensex added 7,782 points. This surge mainly rode a huge resurgence of buying by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), which bought Indian stocks worth about Rs 49,500 crore or about $5.2 billion on a net basis, shows data from NSDL and BSE. Nifty on NSE also rallied in a similar manner with the index up 8.6% or 1,977 points this week to close at 25,030 points. The sensex closed above the psychologically important 80K mark and the Nifty above the 25K mark after more than nine months.