Sensex Jumps 905 Points, Nifty Clears 22,900 Amid Fed Rate Hold and Easing Crude Prices

Indian equity markets staged a robust single-day rally on Thursday, propelled by favorable global cues and broad-based domestic buying. The BSE Sensex closed up 905.01 points, or 1.24 percent, at 74,151.04, while the NSE Nifty 50 ended 237.90 points, or 1.05 percent, higher at 22,936.75.

The Sensex opened at 73,268.47, touched an intraday low of 73,181.90, and rose to a high of 74,166.16 before settling near the peak. The Nifty opened at 22,690.65, dipped to 22,656.75, and climbed to 22,961.95, successfully breaching the 22,800 resistance level flagged by analysts during morning and midday sessions. The India VIX declined over 6 percent to around 15.14, indicating a reduction in near-term market volatility expectations.

Sectoral performance showed widespread gains, led by Nifty FMCG up 2.3 percent and Nifty PSU Bank up 2.2 percent. Realty, Banking, Financial Services, and IT indices also closed in positive territory, whereas Nifty Auto was the sole major laggard, declining 0.2 percent. Broader market participation remained healthy, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices each rising approximately 1 percent.

The primary global catalyst was the US Federal Reserve's decision to maintain its benchmark rate at 3.75 percent to 4.00 percent, though a 10-2 vote split left room for future rate adjustments. The US 10-year Treasury yield retreated toward 4.9 percent from a high of 5.02 percent. Additionally, crude oil prices eased, with Brent slipping below $114 a barrel and WTI trading near $101, following renewed diplomatic engagement between Washington and Tehran that reduced the geopolitical risk premium.

On the domestic front, the Finance Ministry revised its Q2 FY27 GDP growth estimate upward to 7.35 percent from 7.3 percent, supported by industrial output, GST collections, and port traffic data. Industrial Production growth for September stood at 6.7 percent, moderating from 8 percent in August. Furthermore, the government approved a 3-percentage-point hike in Dearness Allowance for central government employees effective July 1, 2026, at an annual cost of ₹10,016.10 crore. The Cabinet also cleared a ₹10,000 crore Container Manufacturing Promotion Scheme through FY 2039-40 and the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana with an outlay of ₹7,395.55 crore.

The Indian rupee finished the session at 95.26 against the US dollar, aided by foreign institutional buying, central bank intervention, and softer crude prices. Meanwhile, spot gold eased below $4,030, and silver declined below $52.50 ahead of upcoming US economic data releases.

Market analysts note that sustained sector-wide buying and global developments, including upcoming US economic reports and geopolitical updates, will remain critical in determining whether the recovery extends toward higher resistance levels near 23,100.

"This strong market rally reflects a healthy convergence of stabilizing global interest rates, cooling crude prices, and solid domestic macroeconomic indicators like upgraded GDP estimates and steady industrial output. While positive sentiment is boosting broad-based participation across sectors, businesses and investors should remain watchful of upcoming global economic data and ongoing commodity price movements to gauge the durability of this recovery." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes