Top Gainers & Losers on Mar 05: LT Foods, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Coal India, Reliance Infra among top gainers

Bulls came to the rescue of the Indian stock market in Thursday's trade, March 05, after a three-day brutal sell-off that wiped out billions in investor wealth amid fears that intensifying tensions in the Middle East could stoke inflation.

Even though the US-Israel war with Iran still remains heated, the Nifty 50 closed 285 points higher at the 24,765 level, while the Sensex also made a strong rebound, rising 1.14% to 80,015. The broader markets also saw a sharp reversal in sentiment, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 closing over 1.4% higher.

All sectoral indices finished in the green, with Nifty Metal emerging as a standout performer by gaining 2.21%, while the Nifty Consumer Durables index surged 2%.

It was followed by Nifty Auto, Nifty Realty, Nifty Oil and Gas, Nifty Pharma, Nifty Chemicals, and Nifty Media, all closing with gains of over 1%. Nifty IT was the sole loser, falling 0.72% amid the strengthening of the Indian rupee.

Commenting on today's performance, Hitesh Tailor, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Broking, said, "Despite the surge in crude oil prices and persistent geopolitical tensions in West Asia, today’s market rebound appears largely driven by technical and derivative factors."

"After the recent sharp correction, benchmark indices had slipped into deeply oversold territory, prompting a relief rally. The cooling in volatility, with India VIX easing from elevated levels, suggests that a significant portion of the geopolitical risk premium had already been priced in during the earlier decline," he further added.

Additionally, he said that strong domestic institutional buying has helped stabilise the market despite continued FII caution. While elevated crude prices remain a macro headwind for India, the current upmove is largely a technical mean-reversion rally supported by derivatives positioning and selective value buying at lower levels.

LT Foods tops Nifty 500 gainers; defence shipbuilders and metals shine

LT Foods was the top performer among Nifty 500 stocks, surging 17% to ₹430 apiece, while major shipbuilding stocks such as Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Cochin Shipyard, and Garden Reach Shipbuilders closed with gains of 8.9%, 3.6%, and 4.4%, respectively.

Navin Fluorine International shares rallied 7.4% to ₹6,527 apiece, while SJVN shares settled at ₹73 apiece, up 7% from the previous close. Amid the sharp rally in global aluminium prices, Nalco share price strengthened 6.5% to ₹397 apiece.

Other metal stocks such as Sarda Energy & Minerals, Hindalco, and Lloyds Metals & Energy surged 4%, 3.6%, and 3.4%, respectively. Following a three-day sell-off, Blue Star shares spiked 5.6% to ₹1,946. Natco Pharma shares also shone during the session, climbing 5% to ₹1,000, marking the highest level since June 2025.

Capital goods stocks such as Elgi Equipments, Cummins India, Kirloskar Oil Engines, Apar Industries, GE Vernova T&D India, and Schaeffler India all climbed up to 4%. Other key stocks such as Reliance Infrastructure, Coal India, Petronet LNG, and Welspun Corp rallied between 3.5% and 5%.

Netweb, Aegis Vopak lead losers; Gujarat Gas tumbles on R-LNG disruption

On the losing side, Netweb Technologies lost 6.1% of its value, falling to ₹3,250 apiece, while Aegis Vopak Terminals also dropped 5.2% to ₹188.8 apiece. Gujarat Gas shares crashed 4.9% to ₹397.2 apiece after the company said that the war in the Middle East is impacting the availability of R-LNG, forcing it to issue force majeure notices to industrial customers.

Sagility was another top laggard among Nifty 500 stocks, falling 3.8% to ₹39.8 apiece. Other stocks such as Affle 3i, Praj Industries, Home First Finance, Metropolis Healthcare, Poly Medicure, Reliance Power, Siemens Energy India, Oil India, and KPIT Technologies all fell by over 2.5%.

Disclaimer: We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.

(more to come)