Sensex, Nifty End Slightly Higher Amid IT Gains and Trade Deal Optimism

Mumbai, October 23: Equity benchmark indices closed with modest gains on Thursday as strong buying in information technology and tech shares offset weakness in select heavyweights. Optimism surrounding a potential India–US trade deal also supported market sentiment through most of the session.

Indices Trim Gains on Late Profit-Taking

After touching a fresh 52-week high during the day, markets gave up most of their intraday gains due to profit-taking and caution triggered by fresh US sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies. A decline of over one per cent in Reliance Industries further weighed on the benchmarks.

The BSE Sensex rose 130.06 points, or 0.15%, to close at 84,556.40 after surging as much as 863.72 points to 85,290.06 earlier in the day. The NSE Nifty settled 22.80 points, or 0.09%, higher at 25,891.40.

IT Stocks Lead Gains

Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, Infosys rose 3.86%, the highest among IT stocks. Other large gainers included HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan, and Tech Mahindra.

On the other hand, giants like Eternal, UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel, and Adani Ports ended in the red.

Market Volatility and Key Indicators

The India VIX, which gauges market volatility, rose by 3.85% to 11.73, indicating a slight rise in market uncertainty, following its recent highs.

Markets fluctuated substantially during the session in reaction to global occurrences and geopolitical risk that will ultimately affect investor sentiment. Notwithstanding market volatility, brokers were positive in their outlook, mainly due to projections supporting growth in the economy and a rebound of corporate earnings in the second half of FY26.

Global Market Overview

Asia saw Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finish positive, while the Kospi and Nikkei 225 were negative. Europe’s market is mixed in deals today, and the US indices were negative yesterday.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, two of Russia’s most prominent oil companies, resulting in Brent crude rising 5.43% to USD 65.99 a barrel.

Recent Market Activity

Based on data from the exchanges, the Sensex increased 62.97 points to a new record of 84,426.34 during a Muhurat trading session on Tuesday, while the Nifty jumped higher by 25.45 points to a new record of 25,868.60. Markets were closed on Wednesday due to Diwali Balipratipada.

Also, according to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers of equities worth ₹96.72 crore on Tuesday.

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