Sectoral Snapshot Today, November 12, 2026: Financials Support Dalal Street as Autos Retreat

Financial stocks lead gains; Bajaj Finance rises after $1-billion share sale

Financial stocks remained an important pillar of market support amid renewed overseas investor interest in Indian equities. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 12,563 crore on Wednesday, taking their net purchases in November to $6.43 billion, their strongest monthly buying since September 2024. Among financial stocks, Bajaj Finance gained 3.4% after announcing a share sale worth more than $1 billion to institutional investors. Life insurance stocks rallied after industry-wide first-year premium income rose 26.2% year-on-year in October, compared with 21.3% growth in September. HDFC Life (up 4.2%), Shriram Finance (3.6%), SBI Life Insurance (3%) and State Bank of India (2.4%) were also among the top Nifty 50 gainers. Life Insurance Corporation Of India advanced 1%.

Auto stocks end eight-session winning streak; FMCG, Oil & Gas decline

Automobile stocks came under pressure, with the Nifty Auto index declining 1%, ending an eight-session winning streak. Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.2% while Mahindra & Mahindra declined 1.9%. Auto parts maker Samvardhana Motherson International fell 2.3%. The Nifty Pharma index shed 0.3%, while FMCG and Oil & Gas declined 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively. The Nifty IT index slipped 0.4%. Infosys declined 0.3% and TCS fell 1.2%. Tech Mahindra declined 0.8%. The weakness in technology shares comes against the backdrop of concerns over elevated valuations and the sustainability of global artificial intelligence-related investments. A cooling of the AI trade has, however, also encouraged investors to reassess opportunities in markets such as India, which have a greater representation of traditional sectors including IT, financials, automobiles, infrastructure and consumption.

Midcaps, smallcaps outperform benchmarks

The broader market outperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap index rising 0.9% and the Nifty Smallcap index advancing 1.1%. Market breadth remained positive, with 2,377 shares advancing, 1,878 declining and 195 remaining unchanged on the NSE. Among individual stocks, ONGC, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle India and Power Grid Corporation featured among the biggest Nifty 50 laggards. Meanwhile, Adani Green Energy, Coforge, Life Insurance Corporation of India and Meesho will remain in focus after MSCI added them to its India index, while PI Industries was removed. The changes could prompt portfolio adjustments by passive funds tracking the index.

Lower crude offers support; elevated US bond yields remain a concern

Lower crude oil prices continued to offer support to the domestic market. Brent crude fell more than 1% to around $91.80 per barrel amid hopes of progress in peace talks involving the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As a major crude importer, India stands to benefit from lower oil prices through reduced imported inflation and pressure on its current account deficit. However, elevated US bond yields remain a potential headwind for emerging-market equities. The US 10-year Treasury yield hovered near 4.99%, limiting the appeal of riskier assets and potentially moderating foreign investor appetite after the recent rally. Going forward, investors will track the sustainability of FPI inflows, crude oil prices, global bond yields and developments in the September-quarter earnings season for further direction.

Source

•  NSE