Stock Market May 7 Mid-day Report: Sensex Surges 44 points, Nifty Gains 46 points as Investors Wait on Global Cues

Mumbai, May 7: The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 showed admirable resilience on Thursday, clawing back from a cautious open to trade firmly in the green by midday — the Sensex recovering to 78,003.51, up 44.99 points or 0.06%, and the Nifty 50 climbing to 24,376.75, gaining 45.80 points or 0.19%, a quiet but meaningful turnaround that underscored the underlying strength of India’s equity markets even in the face of extraordinary geopolitical uncertainty.

The opening had been tentative, with the Sensex slipping 122 points and the Nifty edging down 25 points at 9:22 am as markets braced for what could be a defining day in the Middle East war — Iran was expected to hand over its formal response to the US peace proposal to mediators by Thursday, keeping traders on high alert with every oil tick and diplomatic headline parsed in real time.

Yet rather than succumb to the anxiety, buyers stepped in steadily through the morning session, absorbing the volatility and nudging both indices back above their previous close — a testament to investor confidence in India’s domestic fundamentals even as global cues remained fluid.

Investors in Wait-and-Watch Mode

Investors across Dalal Street are firmly in wait-and-watch mode on Thursday, with the market’s pulse tied almost entirely to the outcome of Iran’s expected formal response to the US peace proposal — a reply that, if forthcoming, could reshape the trajectory of oil prices, regional risk premiums and global equity sentiment in a single news cycle.

The Sensex and Nifty have both struggled to find directional conviction through the morning, with institutional flows remaining muted and retail participation tentative, as market participants resist the temptation to build fresh positions without clarity on whether the Middle East is genuinely edging toward de-escalation or simply experiencing another false dawn in what has been a protracted and unpredictable conflict. The caution is disciplined rather than fearful.

Top Gainers -Nifty 50

Bajaj Auto was the standout performer among large-caps on Thursday, surging +3.32% from its previous session close of ₹10,319 to trade at ₹10,662 — the auto major drawing strong buying interest on the back of continued optimism around two-wheeler demand and favourable monsoon outlook commentary from sector analysts. HDFC Life Insurance followed closely, advancing +3.14% from ₹606.35 to ₹625.40, as the private life insurer attracted fresh institutional accumulation amid a broader rotation into defensive, non-cyclical financial names.

Mahindra & Mahindra gained +2.11% from ₹3,300.80 to ₹3,370.30, building on the auto sector’s strong morning momentum as investors continued to reward the company’s robust SUV pipeline and its diversified EV and tractor business outlook. Eicher Motors rounded out the top gainers with a rise of +1.64% from ₹7,310.50 to ₹7,430.50, continuing its upward grind as Royal Enfield’s domestic sales momentum and export recovery narrative kept buyers engaged through the morning session.

Top Losers -Nifty 50

Titan Company was the biggest laggard in the Nifty 50 pack on Thursday, falling -1.73% from its previous close of ₹4,359.60 to ₹4,284 — the jewellery-to-watches conglomerate coming under pressure as discretionary consumer stocks faced mild profit-booking after recent outperformance, with some analysts flagging near-term demand headwinds in premium segments.

Hindustan Unilever declined -1.46% from ₹2,317.10 to ₹2,283.30, with the FMCG bellwether slipping as the sector index turned negative in morning trade amid concerns over rural demand recovery timelines and competitive pressures in the home and personal care segment. TCS shed -1.28% from ₹2,435.40 to ₹2,404.30, as IT stocks continued to face a challenging environment driven by muted deal momentum commentary, global client caution amid macro uncertainty, and a Nifty IT index that extended its underperformance for another session.

Broad Markets -Midcaps and Smallcaps Outperform

The broader market told a decidedly more upbeat story than the large-cap headline indices on Thursday morning, with the Nifty Microcap 250 leading all broad indices with a gain of +1.35% to 23,989.25, followed by the Nifty Midcap Select advancing +0.96% to 14,450.65, and the Nifty Smallcap 250 gaining +0.83% to 17,377.45 — a clear signal that investor appetite for risk was alive and well in the mid-and-small-cap space even as large-caps dithered.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Auto was the top-performing sector index by a wide margin, surging +1.66% to 27,267.15 on strong buying in Bajaj Auto, M&M and Eicher Motors; Nifty Metal rose +0.61% to 13,209.45 as base metals found support from improving China demand signals; Nifty Pharma gained +0.31% to 24,185.20; and the Nifty Healthcare Index added +0.28% to 15,407.85 — with both pharma and healthcare benefiting from defensive positioning as investors balanced geopolitical risk against sector-specific fundamentals.

Asian Markets – Strong Session Across the Board

Asian markets delivered a broadly strong session on Thursday, led by a spectacular +5.58% surge in Japan’s Nikkei 225 to 62,834.58 — its sharpest single-day gain in recent weeks — while Pakistan’s KSE 100 soared +4.23% to 171,704.76, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added a solid +1.55% to 26,618.99, as regional investors drew confidence from the overnight Wall Street rally and cautious optimism around the Middle East peace process. The positive tone extended across Southeast Asia, with Thailand’s SET Index gaining +1.80%, Malaysia’s FTSE Bursa KLCI up +1.04%, and Indonesia’s JSX Composite rising +0.50% — with only China’s Shanghai Composite lagging the regional mood, posting a muted gain of just +0.19% to 4,168.21.

Middle East: Iran Reviews US Peace Proposal

Iran has confirmed it is reviewing a formal US peace proposal that could fundamentally alter the trajectory of the Middle East conflict, with an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson citing ISNA news agency saying Tehran would convey its response through mediators — and a regional source told CNN that Iran’s reply was expected to be handed over by Thursday, raising the stakes for global markets with every passing hour.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed optimism about a deal taking shape, stating that Iran “wants to make a deal” after what he described as very good talks over the preceding 24 hours, while a Pakistani source and another source briefed on the mediation said discussions were close to producing a one-page memorandum that would kick off a broader process — covering unblocking shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting US sanctions on Iran, and setting curbs on Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Oil Prices Rebound After Wednesday’s Slump

Oil prices staged a modest rebound in early Thursday trade, with Brent crude futures rising 88 cents, or 0.9%, to $102.15 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gaining $1.12, or 1.2%, to $96.20 a barrel by early Asian hours — a partial recovery after both benchmarks slumped more than 7% on Wednesday, hitting two-week lows on initial optimism over a possible end to the Middle East conflict.

Sources:

• bseindia.com
• https://www.nseindia.com/market-data/top-gainers-losers