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The BSE Sensex opened nearly 500 points or 0.66% higher at 85,000, while the NSE Nifty surged 166 points or 0.62% to trade at 26,033 in the early trade.
Stock Market Today.
Stock Market Updates Today, October 23: The NSE Nifty on Thursday opened higher as optimism over a Q2 earnings rebound and the return of FPI inflows look set to take the benchmark index towards a new record high level. The BSE Sensex opened nearly 734.36 points or 0.7% higher to 85,160.70, while the NSE Nifty surged 198.3 points or 0.7% to trade above the 26,000 mark at 26,066.90 in the early trade. IT, FMCG, auto and financials remained top performance sectors.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap was trading higher by 0.23%, whereas the BSE Smallcap was down 0.02%.
Among the 30 Sensex shares, 26 stocks were trading in green. The top gainers are Infosys (+3.09%), HCL Tech (+2.36%), Tech Mahindra (+1.84%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (+1.57%), and Tata Steel (+1.56%). However, the laggards were Eternal, Bajaj Finserv, SBI, and Adani Ports falling by up to 0.55%.
The Nifty had recorded an all-time high of 26,277.35 on September 26, 2024.
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their buying streak for the fifth consecutive session on October 21, as they bought equities worth Rs 96 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net sellers, offloading equities worth over Rs 600 crore on the same day.
Key Factors Behind Market Rally Today:
India-US Trade Deal Hopes
US President Donald Trump said he spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, with their conversation focused largely on trade. “We talked about a lot of things, but mostly the world of trade,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Trump added that energy was also part of the discussion, saying Modi assured him that India would be limiting its oil purchases from Russia.
According to Mint citing three people aware of the matter, the India-US trade deal is expected to reduce American tariffs on Indian imports to 15% to 16% from 50%.
V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said, “Reports of an imminent trade deal between India and US is doing the rounds in market circles and the market reaction through Nifty implied open confirms this. Comments from President Trump and responses from PM Modi indicate an early trade deal. The expected deal involves some concessions from both sides. If the reported 15-16% tariffs on Indian exports to the US materialises, that would be a big positive for the Indian economy and a major boost to stock markets.”
FPI Inflows
After withdrawing money on a net basis for the past three months, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have turned buyers with nearly Rs 6,500 crore investment in October so far, driven by strong macroeconomic factors.
“FIIs turning buyers recently and short covering are factors that can fuel the rally. Clearly, it is advantage bulls! Short-covering has the potential to spike up large caps where there are big short positions. Textile stocks, which bore the brunt of the penal tariffs, are likely to witness big buying,” Vijayakumar said.
Rupee Rise
The rupee on Thursday rose 13 paise to 87.80 against US dollar in early trade.
Positive Q2 Earnings & Festive Sales
India Inc’s positive Q2 earnings have also added to investors’ optimism, according to traders.
“The market rally which has already begun in the festival season will accelerate enabling the Nifty to set new record highs. Unprecedented record sales during the last few days has the potential to improve corporate earnings,” Vijayakumar added.
Technical View
Anand James, chief market strategist of Geojit Investments Limited, said, “High momentum as confirmed by oscillators have been successful in letting Nifty trade close to the upper bollinger band on consecutive days. In this construct, bearish candles formed in the last two days could get ignored initially, before precipitating into a sharp reversal. For now, upside objective is set at 26186, with 26800 appearing as an optimistic objective. Meanwhile, downside marker is placed at 25780, but an outright reversal is not expected today.”
Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h…Read More
Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h… Read More
October 23, 2025, 09:20 IST
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