Sensex jumps 900pts, Nifty tops 25,600; here's why markets are rising today

Why markets are rising today: Indian equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, witnessed a sharp rally on Thursday, October 16, 2025, rising over a per cent each, following positive global and domestic market cues. 

 

The BSE Sensex rallied over 900 points in the intraday to hit a high of 83,571. The NSE Nifty50 surpassed the 25,600 mark in the intraday to hit a high of 25,559, up nearly 300 points from the previous day's close of 24,323.55.

 

Last checked, the BSE Sensex was trading at 83,532.64 levels, up 927 points or 1.12 per cent, while the NSE Nifty50 index was up 282.75 points or 1.12 per cent at 25,606.3 levels. 

Twenty-seven of the 30 Sensex constituents were trading in green, including Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Ports, Trent, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech and Tata Motors, gaining in the range of 1 to 3 per cent.

 

In the broader market, the NSE MidCap 100 index was up 0.56 per cent, and the Nifty SmallCap 100 index rose 0.17 per cent. 

 

All the sectoral indices were in green. The Nifty Auto index surged by 4.35 per cent, and the Nifty Consumer Durables index by 3.22 per cent. Nifty Bank, Financial Services, FMCG, Metal, and Realty also surged up to 3 per cent.

Here are the key reasons behind the Sensex and Nifty rally on October 16:

Buying in index heavyweights: Index heavyweights, including private lender Axis Bank and FMCG major Nestle India, witnessed a sharp uptick on the back of upbeat financial results for the July-September quarter of fiscal 2025-26 (Q2FY26). Nestle India was the top gainer on the Nifty50 index and rose nearly 4 per cent to hit a 52-week high of ₹1,281.20. HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries also rose over 1 per cent each ahead of their Q2FY26 results. 

 

India-US trade deal: Optimism around a potential India-US trade deal also lifted the domestic market sentiment. According to media reports, both countries are actively negotiating, with Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal set to join the Indian delegation in the US on Thursday, October 16, for trade discussions.

 

VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, said that the latest comments from the US administration indicate a reduction in the India-US trade tensions and point to the possibility of a US-India trade deal in the next few weeks. 

 

"China’s tough actions regarding the rare earth magnets have hit the US hard and, therefore, the US is keen on striking a deal with India with both countries making some concessions," he added.

 

Institutional flows: On Wednesday, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers of equities worth ₹68.64 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) made substantial purchases amounting to ₹4,650.08 crore. FIIs infused nearly ₹3,000 crore into Indian equities in the cash segment last week, marking their first net positive investment after several weeks of outflows. 

  Rupee gains: The Indian rupee surged over 1 per cent against the US dollar on Wednesday, boosting sentiment in the domestic markets. The currency held steady on Thursday as well, aided by a softer dollar amid growing expectations of US Fed rate cuts in the coming months.  The domestic currency appreciated to ₹87.8 per US Dollar on Thursday. 

Technical view

Nilesh Jain, head of technical and derivatives research analyst (Equity Research) at Centrum Broking, said the bulls remained in control for the second straight session as Nifty crossed the psychological hurdle of 25,500. The index also broke out above a major falling trend line that connects all key tops since the previous record high of 26,277, indicating the potential for further upside in the coming sessions.  "On the derivatives front, fresh long positions are being built, reinforcing the bullish sentiment. Momentum indicators and oscillators continue to signal a buy on both daily and weekly charts. Overall, the trend remains positive, with Nifty likely to head towards 25,800–26,000 levels in the short term, while support has now shifted higher to around 25,420," he said.