October 17, 2025

Indian shares danced to a lively tune on Thursday, as the Sensex jumped 500 points to 83,111 and Nifty climbed 140 points to 25,460. The spotlight shined brightly on financials and consumer durables, driving the rally with powerful energy. Axis Bank, Adani Ports, Eternal, Titan, and Mahindra & Mahindra led the winners, soaring between 1% and 4% on the 30-stock Sensex stage. Private banks enjoyed a 1% rise, with Axis Bank bursting ahead by 3%. The broader market also joined the party, as small-cap stocks increased 0.6% and mid-caps nudged up 0.2%. Heavyweights like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank added 0.6% each, while Reliance Industries lifted the mood with a 0.5% gain. Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, shared a stirring viewpoint: "The latest comments from the U.S. administration indicate reduction in the India-U.S. trade tensions and points to the possibility of a U.S.-India trade deal in the next few weeks." He explained that China's tough moves on rare earth magnets have hit the U.S. hard, making America eager for a deal with India involving concessions from both sides. Vijayakumar added, "Even though Indian macros are robust and GDP growth projection for FY26 is being revised up, India’s exports and jobs in labour intensive areas like textiles, gems and jewellery and leather products have been hit hard. In this context, a US-India trade deal will be a big boost to the markets." The country's low CPI inflation of just 1.54% in September opens the door for further rate cuts by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Vijayakumar observed, "This, in turn, will boost the prospects of rate sensitives particularly automobiles, which are likely to experience sustained high demand for an extended period of time." The excitement wasn’t limited to India. Asian markets enjoyed a rally too, driven by chip and AI-related stocks. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.8%, Taiwan jumped 1.4%, South Korea’s KOSPI soared 1.8%, and Australia’s index gained 1.1%, with all hitting record highs. Even Hong Kong and mainland China bounced back despite ongoing trade tension with Washington. U.S. stock futures stayed mostly flat after the S&P 500 climbed 0.4% and Nasdaq 0.6%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index zoomed up 3%. Gold glittered with a record high of $4,234.41 an ounce, up 0.6%. On the institutional front, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 68.6 crore on October 15, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net buyers by a hefty Rs 4,650 crore. In oil news, prices ticked up about 1% after U.S. President Donald Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to stop buying Russian crude — a key part of India's imports. Brent crude added 57 cents to $62.48 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 54 cents to $58.81. The Indian rupee also had a party of its own, rising 0.3% to reach 87.8125 per U.S. dollar—a one-month best. This strengthening was helped by central bank moves, a softer dollar, and Trump's comments on Modi's pledge to halt Russian oil imports. The dollar index fell 0.28% to 98.51. With fresh trade hope, strong markets, low inflation, and the rupee on the rise, the Indian financial scene is buzzing with energy and big possibilities!

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Tags: Indian stock market, Sensex, Nifty, Foreign institutional investors, Us-india trade deal, Inflation, Oil prices, Rupee,