On Thursday, October 15, the Indian equity benchmarks opened with a gap‑up and extended gains, with the SENSEX surging 925 points to 73,707 and the NIFTY50 rising 271 points to 22,895 by 10:20 a.m. The rally was led by heavyweight names such as Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and HCL Technologies, each contributing to the index’s upward trajectory. Tech Mahindra topped the NIFTY50 gainers, jumping 2.96% to ₹1,622, while Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys also rose between 1% and 2.5%.

Investor sentiment turned positive after Jio Platforms, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries, announced the dates for India’s largest IPO. The company will open for subscription on October 21 and close on October 23, with a price band of ₹1,065 to ₹1,119 per share. Retail investors can apply for a minimum of 12 shares, with subsequent multiples. Jio also offered a ₹54 per share discount to eligible employees bidding under the reserved quota, reserving up to ₹500 crore of equity shares for employee subscription. The announcement lifted Reliance shares to an intraday high of ₹1,201.75, contributing 137 points to the SENSEX.

Global markets, however, were trading sharply lower. Asian indices fell as tech shares in South Korea and the United States saw a deepening sell‑off after higher‑than‑expected CPI inflation data, renewing expectations of a Fed rate hike. South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 7.08%, Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 4.33%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 1.52% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng plunged 0.92%. Overnight, U.S. stocks closed lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.09%, the S&P 500 falling 1.11% and the tech‑heavy Nasdaq dropping 1.88%.

Within India, 12 of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading higher, led by the NIFTY IT index’s 2.22% gain. Indian IT stocks benefited from a contra AI trend, as tech shares in the United States, South Korea and Taiwan faced selling pressure. Other sector indices such as NIFTY Financial Services, Auto, FMCG, Private Bank, Realty, Healthcare and Bank also surged between 0.5% and 1.3%. Conversely, PSU bank, consumer durables, oil & gas, metal, media and pharma shares faced selling pressure, and the NIFTY Midcap 100 rose 0.28% while the NIFTY Smallcap 100 fell 0.64%.

The market breadth remained negative, with 1,881 shares declining against 1,105 advancing on the NSE. Among the individual stocks, IDBI Bank fell 6.35% to an intraday low of ₹84.70 after Fairfax Financial Holdings announced plans to acquire a 60.72% stake in the bank for about ₹53,000 crore, marking the largest foreign investment in an Indian bank and a milestone in the country’s banking privatisation drive. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved Fairfax’s subsidiary M/s 10955230 Canada Inc as the strategic buyer for the government’s 30.48% stake (₹26,620 crore) and LIC’s 30.24% stake (₹26,440 crore). Fairfax will pay ₹81 per share, above the benchmark fair value of ₹75.99 set by two independent valuation agencies.

In the NIFTY50, top losers included Adani Enterprises, Hindalco, ONGC, Trent, Bharat Electronics, Shriram Finance, Adani Ports, Nestle India and Bajaj Finserv, each falling between 1% and 2.5%. The overall market breadth remained negative as 1,881 shares were declining while 1,105 were advancing on the NSE. The article is purely informational and not investment advice; readers are advised to consult a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.