INDIA STOCKS-Indian benchmarks near three-month highs as oil slides after US Democratic win

By Vivek Kumar M

Nov 5 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks surged near three-month highs on Thursday as oil prices slid on hopes that a Democratic victory in the US midterm elections could hasten the end of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

A Democratic win in US midterm elections is being seen as a scathing rebuke to President Donald Trump, whose administration's global tariff policy and decision to go to war in the Middle East had contributed to the Indian market's underperformance this year.

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The benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI rose 1.78% to 24,387.85, while the Sensex .BSESN added 1.94% to 78,798.25, by 10:28 a.m. IST. They have jumped nearly 8% in six sessions, in what is set to be their longest winning streak in a year.

Nifty 50 and Sensex have trimmed their year-to-date losses to 6.5% and 7.4%, respectively.

Market sentiment was also bolstered by signs that foreign investors were returning to India. Foreign investors bought shares worth 72.84 billion rupees ($769.65 million) on Wednesday, as per provisional data.

This was one of their biggest single-day buys in India since October 2025 and adds to November's net inflows of $1.57 billion.

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"The victory of Democrats, who are seen as favouring tighter regulations on AI, could propel foreign investors to look beyond this theme in the future and benefit markets like India," said Dharmesh Kant, head of equity research at Cholamandalam Securities.

Kant added that the Indian market is showing signs of recovering from two years of underperformance against most global peers, as stars seem to be aligning on key factors like crude oil prices and foreign flows.

Brent crude futures dropped 1% to $93.5 per barrel, after an 8.7% slide in the previous session. O/R

Fifteen of the 16 major sectors rose. The broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 jumped 1.1% and 1.4%, respectively.

Heavyweight financials jumped 2.6%, with HDFC Bank HDBK.NS and ICICI Bank ICBK.NS rising 2.2% and 2.7%, respectively.

Shares of companies exposed to oil prices soared as a drop in energy prices raised prospects of easing inflationary pressures. Among them, Asian Paints ASPN.NS and IndiGo INGL.NS jumped 4.2% and 5.3%, respectively.