Indian Equities Surge Sharply as Banking and Consumer Shares Rally

Indian stock markets rallied strongly on Thursday as the benchmark Sensex jumped over nine hundred points following the United States Federal Reserve decision to keep interest rates unchanged and a marginal decline in global oil prices.

The thirty-share BSE Sensex surged 905.01 points, or 1.24 percent, to close at 74,151.04. The fifty-share NSE Nifty settled 237.90 points higher at 22,936.75 on the monthly derivatives expiry day.

The sharp recovery provided crucial relief to oil-importing India, where elevated crude prices and persistent inflation concerns had previously weighed on domestic investor sentiment and currency stability.

“Markets staged a strong rebound on Thursday, gaining over 1% amid favourable cues and improved investor sentiment,” said Ajit Mishra, senior vice-president of research at Religare Broking.

Mishra added that the breadth of the advance was encouraging, noting that realty, fast-moving consumer goods and select banking stocks led the recovery across the trading session.

Among individual constituents, Adani Ports emerged as the biggest gainer by rising over five percent after reporting an eighteen percent increase in consolidated net profit for the September quarter.

Financials, IT, realty and power sectors also strengthened, while mid-cap and small-cap stocks participated in the broader market advance, according to exchange data and analyst reports.

“Indian equities rallied as the U.S. Fed’s rate pause, marginal easing in crude, and renewed institutional buying improved risk appetite despite a challenging external backdrop,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments Ltd.

Nair noted that FMCG led gains on resilient consumer demand while domestic demand stability supported the broader market thesis, although elevated input costs could test margin durability in upcoming quarters.

Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth 871.83 crore rupees on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth 643.35 crore rupees, according to exchange data cited by The Hindu.

Brent crude fell 1.18 percent to $113.96 per barrel in global markets, though analysts warned that ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and potential supply disruptions in West Asia continue to pose structural risks.

Technical indicators suggest the Nifty could move toward the 23,100 to 23,300 range if buying momentum persists, while the 22,500 to 22,700 band is expected to provide near-term support.