MUMBAI, Oct 16: Indian stock markets extended their rally for the second consecutive day on Thursday, driven by strong global cues and optimism over a potential US Federal Reserve rate cut.
The benchmark BSE Sensex surged 862.23 points (1.04%) to close at 83,467.66, while the NSE Nifty gained 261.75 points (1.03%) to settle near the 25,600 mark at 25,585.30.
The Sensex had briefly soared over 1,000 points during intraday trade, hitting a high of 83,615.48.
Investor sentiment was lifted by across-the-board buying, a positive global market rally, expectations of a demand revival in Q3 FY26, and signs of foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows.
Hopes of a US Fed rate cut and the International Monetary Fund’s upgraded forecast for India’s FY26 GDP growth (6.6%) also supported the bullish trend.
Among the Sensex components, Kotak Mahindra Bank led the gains with a rise of 2.67%, followed by Titan, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, M&M, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, and HDFC Bank.
Only two stocks—Eternal and Infosys—closed with losses.
All sectoral indices ended in the green, with realty stocks outperforming (up 1.87%), followed by FMCG (1.74%), consumer durables (1.51%), banking (1.27%), auto (1.15%), and commodities (0.76%).
The BSE midcap and smallcap indices also rose by 0.29% and 0.47%, respectively.
Overall market breadth was positive, with 2,377 stocks advancing, 1,810 declining, and 147 remaining unchanged on the BSE.
Asian markets largely closed higher, with South Korea’s Kospi rising 2.49%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 1.27%, and China’s SSE Composite edging up 0.10%.
However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended lower. European markets were trading higher, and US markets had ended mostly in the green on Wednesday.
On the trade front, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal is set to join Indian delegates in Washington for trade talks, with India showing willingness to increase energy imports from the US.
Brent crude rose 0.57% to USD 62.26 per barrel.
Meanwhile, FIIs were net buyers of ₹68.64 crore, and DIIs bought ₹4,650.08 crore worth of equities on Wednesday. (PTI)
