India-US trade deal hopes lift mood, Sensex up 1,200 pts, Nifty above 25k

The rally came after comments from President Trump that India had offered a zero-tariff trade deal to the United States

Stock Market Closing Bell, Thursday, May 15, 2025: Following a lacklustre first half, the Indian equity benchmark indices witnessed a sharp reversal on Thursday with the Sensex climbing 1,400 points and the Nifty50 reclaiming the 25,000-mark intraday. The rally came after comments from US President Donald Trump that India had offered a zero-tariff trade deal to the United States. READ MORE

 

This comes amid India's efforts to secure a trade deal with the US within the 90-day tariff pause by Trump for major trading partners. Trump had announced a 26 per cent tariff on imports from India. 

The benchmark BSE Sensex jumped 1,200 points, or 1.48 per cent, to close at 82,530.74 levels. The Nifty50 closed at 25,062.10 levels, up by 395.20 points or 1.6 per cent. 

 

 

Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said the market staged a robust rebound, closing with substantial gains, driven by a decline in domestic inflation and positive signals from the US regarding a potential trade agreement with India. The benchmark index outperformed the broader market, buoyed by growing optimism around reduced operational costs and a potentially more accommodative monetary policy stance. 

 

In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.69 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index settled 0.54 per cent higher. 

 

On the sectoral front, Nifty Auto and Realty emerged as the top gainers. Nifty Auto rose 1.9 per cent, driven by gains in index heavyweights Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, and TVS Motor, which rose between 6.5 per cent and 2 per cent. Nifty Realty also closed 1.9 per cent higher, led by gains in Raymond, Macrotech Developers, Anant Raj, and DLF. 

 

"Rate-sensitive sectors such as automobiles and real estate led the rally, supported by upbeat industry forecasts. Investor attention is now turning to the upcoming speech by the Federal Reserve Chair, which is anticipated to provide further clarity on the future policy trajectory, particularly in light of the recent easing in US inflation data,"  Nair added.  Among others, Nifty Metal, Bank, Financial Services, IT, Media, and Oil & Gas rose up to 1.74 per cent. 

 

From the Sensex constituents, except for IndusInd Bank, all other stocks settled higher. The top gainers were Tata Motors, up by 4.16 per cent, HCL Tech (3.37 per cent), Eternal (2.22 per cent), Adani Ports (2.19 per cent) and Asian Paints, up by 2.07 per cent. 

IndusInd Bank settled at ₹779 after hitting day's low of ₹759 amid reports that its internal audit department is examining yet another accounting irregularity. 

 

In the midcap space, Cochin Shipyard up by 7.27 per cent, Alkem Laboratories (3.74 per cent), IRB Infrastructure (3.61 per cent), Vodafone Idea (3.44 per cent), and Motilal Oswal Financial Services up by 3.17 per cent were the top gainers. 

"With Indo-Pak tensions on the mend currently, and hopes of a favourable tariff policy between the US and the two Asian giants (India & China) expected in the near term, equity markets could see some traction, although bouts of intra-day volatility risk remains high," said Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president for research at Mehta Equities.