Indian Shares Post Biggest Gain in Four Months as Oil Eases, Rupee Strengthens

An end-of-day recap of all that transpired in the Indian markets, highlighting the major price movements and the factors driving them

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By Dehuti Jani

October 15, 2026 at 12:42 PM IST

Indian benchmark indices posted their biggest single-day gains in four months on Thursday, as falling crude oil prices eased inflation concerns and a global sell-off in AI-linked stocks prompted investors to reassess India's relative appeal.

The Nifty50 rose 1.66% to 22,997.35, while the Sensex gained 2.11%, or 1,533.72 points, to 74,315.61. The rally came despite persistent foreign investor outflows, which have reached a record $32.7 billion this year, putting the Nifty on course for its worst annual performance since 2011.

Eleven of the 16 major sectoral indices advanced, with Nifty IT leading the gains. Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries were among the top Nifty 50 gainers. However, the broader market underperformed, with the Nifty MidCap 100 falling 0.36% and the Nifty SmallCap 100 declining 1.31%.

Indian companies with indirect exposure to the AI theme, including through optical fibres and data centres, also came under pressure. Across Asia, South Korea's KOSPI ended at a six-month low after a sharp sell-off in chipmakers triggered a circuit breaker, while Japan's Nikkei 225 fell around 5% as hotter-than-expected US inflation data heightened concerns over interest rates and the sustainability of AI-related investment.

The Indian rupee strengthened for a fourth consecutive session, rising 0.1% to 95.0550 per US dollar. The currency has gained around 2% this week, supported by a weaker dollar, lower crude oil prices, stronger domestic equities and likely central bank intervention, after approaching record-low levels last week.

Indian government bond yields fell, although bonds gave up some gains as traders placed short positions ahead of Friday's 340-billion-rupee government bond auction. Easing crude oil prices and US Treasury yields continued to support sentiment. The benchmark 6.94% 2036 bond yield ended at 7.3921%, slightly down from Wednesday's close of 7.3999%.

Top Movers of the Day

YES Bank slumped by 15% as the Supreme Court of India deemed Yes Bank’s ₹84.15 billion bond write-off illegal. The apex body held that the write-off of AT-1 bonds by the private lender is against the Final Reconstruction Scheme.

ICICI Bank advanced 3.80% to close at ₹1,389.40, emerging as one of the leading drivers of the Sensex's massive 1,500-point rally. The private lender saw robust buying interest from institutional investors ahead of the bank’s scheduled board meeting on October 17 to announce its second quarter earnings.

Reliance Industries rose by 3.44% to close at ₹1,215, significantly boosting the benchmark indices throughout the day. The conglomerate benefited from the subsidiary Jio Platforms' announcement of its massive upcoming initial public offering.

HCL Technologies rose 2.49% to ₹1,360, tracking a sector-wide surge in technology stocks. The shares rose today due to strong positive momentum following it July-September quarterly result, which reported a 21.8% year-on-year jump in its net profit.

Maruti Suzuki gained 2.39% to close at ₹11,445 amid a resurgence of optimism in the automobile sector. The stock found strong support as positive festive season sales expectations continued to bolster investor confidence in leading automakers.

TCS advanced 1.96% to end at ₹2,350, complementing the broader IT sector rally. The stock witnessed aggressive accumulation due to the launch of its Industrial Intelligence Foundry to accelerate AI-led autonomy and engineering.

Trent fell 0.72% to ₹2,949.70, making it the Nifty 50’s biggest laggard despite the broader market rally. Ahead of corporate earnings and macroeconomic updates, investors remained wary of store productivity, cannibalisation and margin pressure at value-fashion brands such as Zudio and Westside.

Adani Enterprises declined 0.83% to settle at ₹2,699, drifting lower in contrast to the sharply positive broader indices. The stock experienced mild but persistent selling pressure as market participants recalibrated their exposure within the infrastructure and conglomerate space.

Nestlé India slipped 7.76% to ₹1,275.80, weighed down by cautious trading in defensive consumer staples. Despite reporting strong July-September quarter results, with net profit jumping 36.3% YoY and revenue rising 20.3%, management cautioned that "rising inflation, particularly food inflation, is a reality."

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation dipped 0.38% to ₹224.64, recording a marginal decline in an otherwise exuberant trading session. The state-run energy explorer faced mild headwinds from fluctuating global crude oil prices, which kept buyers somewhat hesitant.

Bharat Electronics edged lower by 0.151% to close at ₹381.60, nearly flat for the day. The defence public sector undertaking saw subdued trading volumes and minor profit-taking, largely missing out on the broader market's upward momentum.

Futures & Options
The Nifty October 2026 futures closed at 22,993.20, a discount of 4.15 points to the Nifty 50's cash-market close of 22,997.35. The Nifty 50 surged 374.65 points, or 1.66%, during the session, while the NSE's India VIX, a gauge of expected near-term volatility, fell 4.58% to 13.96.

HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, and Yes Bank were the most-traded individual stock futures contracts in the NSE's F&O segment. The October 2026 F&O contracts will expire on 27 October 2026.

Bonds
Indian government bond yields eased on Thursday, although bonds gave up some gains as traders placed short positions ahead of Friday's 340-billion-rupee government bond auction. Lower US Treasury yields and crude oil prices supported sentiment, prompting traders to cover some short positions built in the previous session.

The benchmark 6.94%, 2036 bond yield was ended at 7.3921%, down from Wednesday's close of 7.3999%. The 10-year US Treasury yield eased to 5.08% from around 5.20% in the previous session, while Brent crude slipped to $104 a barrel from $106, providing support to domestic gilts. Traders also placed yield-curve flattened bets amid expectations of further Reserve Bank of India tightening.

Forex
The Indian rupee strengthened for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, rising 0.1% to 95.0550 per US dollar, supported by a weaker dollar, lower crude oil prices, a rally in domestic equities and likely central bank intervention. The currency has gained around 2% so far this week after approaching record-low levels last week.

Brent crude prices fell amid potential US steps to ease restrictions on Russia's shadow-fleet tankers, although supply concerns persisted due to conflicts in West Asia and between Russia and Ukraine. Indian equities outperformed regional markets, rising around 2%, even as benchmark indices in South Korea and Japan fell amid concerns over AI-related debt funding.

Crypto
The cryptocurrency market extended its decline on Thursday, with Bitcoin falling to around $81,000 and Ethereum slipping below the $2,400 threshold to approximately $2,350. Selling pressure intensified after US September inflation rose 3.7% year on year, fuelling concerns that the Federal Reserve could delay interest-rate cuts or consider further hikes.

Higher US Treasury yields and renewed exchange-traded fund outflows added to the pressure on digital assets. More than $483 million in long positions were liquidated across crypto markets over 24 hours, with Ethereum accounting for a significant share of forced selling.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures were mixed on Thursday after hotter-than-expected September inflation data triggered a sell-off in the previous session and heightened concerns over a more aggressive Federal Reserve policy stance. S&P 500 futures fell 0.26%, while Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 1.07%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 192 points, or 0.37%.

The weakness in technology futures came as a global sell-off in AI-related stocks deepened. Investors are reassessing the outlook for interest rates because September consumer prices rose faster than expected year on year, which raises concerns that the Federal Reserve might tighten monetary policy more aggressively before the end of the year.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury yields fell on Thursday as investors bought bonds following an inflation-led sell-off that had pushed longer-term yields to multi-year highs. The 2-year Treasury yield declined to 4.74%, while the 10-year yield eased to 5.08%, retreating after briefly approaching 5.20% earlier in the week.

The pullback offered some relief to the bond market after September's hotter-than-expected consumer price inflation report heightened concerns over a more aggressive Federal Reserve policy stance.

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Indian Shares Post Biggest Gain in Four Months as Oil Eases, Rupee Strengthens