Markets extend gains on US midterm results as Democrats sweep elections

Benchmark indices extended gains on Wednesday as markets reacted to Democrats’ sweep of the midterm elections in the US. 

The Nifty 50 traded 0.63 per cent higher at 23,960.60, its day’s high, and 5.6 per cent over five sessions — a two-month high. The Sensex closed 0.5 per cent up.  

Only 88 Nifty 500 stocks fell on Wednesday. With a 5.15 per cent rise, Nifty Media emerged the best-performing index, reaching its new 52-week high; and the India Vix eased to 15.3, down 2.89 per cent. The IT index, however, was down 1.5 per cent, perhaps as the AI hedge lost some appeal. 

Of Nifty Media stocks, Saregama jumped 13.3 per cent after its results and Zee Entertainment rose 10.1 per cent. Nifty Realty gained 2.85 per cent and Nifty Metal rose 2.80 per cent. 

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Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) invested ₹7,284 crore on Wednesday — the highest since October 28, 2025. The India rally also holds as Brent stays near $100. Domestic institutional investors sold offloaded ₹3,712 crore. 

Further, the Nifty Midcap 100 gained 1.55 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 250 rose 1.97 per cent. The market value of listed companies rose by about ₹6.4 trillion.  

Brent is “low” only against its six-month high near $118 last week. It fell more than 7 per cent on Monday on hopes of a US-Iran deal and was trading around $102.50 on Wednesday afternoon. Tehran says the two sides remain far apart, the US struck air defences on Qeshm Island this week, and another tanker was attacked in Hormuz. The rupee, at about 94.6 per dollar, is at a two-week high, yet only 2.4 per cent above May's record low of 96.96. The 10-year gilt yield fell to about 7.26 per cent, its third straight decline. 

“The markets overall have moved up and the logic behind this is optimism towards seeing some sort of end to the West Asia crisis, since Democrats have made it this time, and it is assumed that this will give Donald Trump a reality check. However, Trump’s reaction is more important than the poll outcome,” said Ambareesh Baliga, an independent market analyst. He also attributed the market performance to strong Q2 earnings, and healthy corrections in IT. 

“Post the US midterm elections, investor focus will shift to the US administration’s next course of action on West Asia, as any further escalation or diplomatic progress could significantly influence crude oil prices and global market sentiment in the near term,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research, wealth management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. 

“Nifty IT declined 1.5 per cent, tracking a broader sell-off in Asian technology stocks amid concerns over rising artificial intelligence spending and potential regulatory scrutiny following the US election outcome,” he added.