Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- ended with minor gains on Thursday amid profit booking at higher levels. Index made a gap-up start and continued its firm trade. Sentiments were optimistic as private report suggested that US-India close to finalise bilateral trade agreement, which could sharply lower tariffs on Indian exports to about 15-16 per cent from the current average of 50 percent. Besides, fresh foreign fund inflow and buying in IT stocks lifted market sentiments. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 96.72 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. In afternoon session, index continued its gaining momentum. Traders took some support with the Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that in the last few months, foreign investors have announced plans to invest over Rs 50,000 crore in India's finance and banking sectors. However, in last leg of the trade, index trimmed most of its gains but managed to close above neutral line. Finally, index closed above 25850 mark.

Traders were seen piling up positions in IT, Private Bank and FMCG stocks, while selling was witnessed in Oil & Gas, Pharma and Auto. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Vodafone Idea, Info Edge (India) and Bharat Forge. On the other hand, the top losers were Fortis Healthcare, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Eternal. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 26900 - 27100 calls and 24900 - 25100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.

India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market’s short-term expectation of volatility increased by 3.85% and reached 11.73. The 50 share Nifty up by 22.80 point or 0.09% to settle at 25,891.40.

Nifty October 2025 futures closed at 25950.00 (LTP) on Thursday, at a premium of 58.60 points over spot closing of 25891.40, while Nifty November 2025 futures ended at 26091.80 (LTP), at a premium of 200.40 points over spot closing. Nifty October futures saw a contraction of 10,039 units, taking the total open interest (Contracts) to 2,22,437 units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on October 28, 2025. (Provisional)

From the most active contracts, Tata Consultancy Services October 2025 futures traded at a premium of 0.20 points at 3070.20 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 3070.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 81,006. (Provisional)

Infosys October 2025 futures traded at a discount of 15.10 points at 1509.90 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1525.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 77,895. (Provisional)

Axis Bank October 2025 futures traded at a discount of 1.60 points at 1252.00 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1253.60. The numbers of contracts traded were 67,791. (Provisional)

Reliance Industries October 2025 futures traded at a premium of 2.60 points at 1450.60 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1448.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 65,748. (Provisional)

HDFC Bank October 2025 futures traded at a premium of 1.80 points at 1008.40 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1006.60. The numbers of contracts traded were 61,162. (Provisional)

Among, Nifty calls, 26100 SP from the October month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 70,381 units open interests. Among Nifty puts, 26000 SP from the October month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 48,100 units open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 27000 SP (2,21,629 units) and that for Puts was at 25000 SP (2,19,393 units). The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 26042.92 -- Pivot Point 25952.68 -- Support 25801.17.

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at (0.88) for October month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on AU Small Finance Bank (1.35), ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company (1.34), Sammaan Capital (1.21), Bajaj Finance (1.19) and IDFC First Bank (1.13).

Among most active underlying HDFC Bank witnessed an addition of 11,970 units of Open Interest in the October month future, Axis Bank witnessed an addition of 18,843 units of Open Interest in the October month future, Reliance Industries witnessed an addition of 11,472 units of Open Interest in the October month futures, ICICI Bank witnessed an addition of 5,106 units of Open Interest in the October month futures and Infosys witnessed a contraction of 17,721 units of Open Interest in the October month futures. (Provisional).