Indian equity benchmarks snapped a three-day losing streak and ended with healthy gains on Thursday, following buying in Metal and Auto stocks. Investors reacted positively to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest rate cut. However, concerns around the Indian rupee’s slide to a fresh record low and lingering uncertainty over India-U.S. trade negotiations capped the upside.

Some of the important factors in trade:

Negotiations for FTAs with Oman, New Zealand in last phase: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that negotiations for Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Oman and New Zealand are in their last phase, and both are expected to be concluded soon. 

India should remain extremely cautious on giving duty concessions to US on agricultural crops: Think tank -- the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that India should remain extremely cautious about giving duty concessions to the US on agricultural crops or genetically modified products, and should insist on a drastic cut in the high tariffs. 

Govt meets target to reduce logistics cost to 9% of GDP: Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the government has met the target to reduce logistics cost to 9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from as high as 16 per cent due to good roads. 

Rupee hits record low against US Dollar: India rupee plunged to close at an all-time low against the US dollar amid uncertainty over the India-US trade deal. Prevailing risk-averse market sentiment and sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on the local unit.

Global front: European markets were trading higher as the U.S. Federal Reserve delivering a less hawkish outlook than some had anticipated. Asian markets ended mostly lower as markets digested the Fed's widely expected rate cut, the forward guidance for 2026 and beyond, as well as the extent of dissent in the FOMC decision. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 426.86 points or 0.51% to 84,818.13 and the CNX Nifty was up by 140.55 points or 0.55% to 25,898.55.       

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 84,906.93 and 84,150.19 respectively. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.  

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.79%, while Small cap index was up by 0.51%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.14%, Auto up by 1.08%, Basic Materials up by 0.94%, IT up by 0.89% and Telecom up by 0.89%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.14% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Eternal up by 2.74%, Tata Steel up by 2.56%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.45%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.27% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 0.91%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.65%, Axis Bank down by 0.50%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.45% and ICICI Bank down by 0.31% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, think tank -- the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that India should remain extremely cautious about giving duty concessions to the US on agricultural crops or genetically modified products, and should insist on a drastic cut in the high tariffs. It added India should also avoid making commitments until the US Supreme Court delivers its verdict on President Donald Trump's tariff authority, which could reshape the entire negotiating table overnight. India and the US are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement, and a team of officials from Washington is in New Delhi for two-day talks beginning Wednesday.

GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said ‘If the US is serious about partnership, it should first cut the punitive tariff on Indian exports from 50 per cent to 25 per cent, especially since the Russian oil issue -- the stated trigger -- has already been resolved’. While briefing the US Senate, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that the US trade team is currently in New Delhi working with Indian authorities on the proposed bilateral trade agreement.

He acknowledged that India remains ‘a very difficult nut to crack’ when it comes to accepting US exports of certain row crops and meat products, but added that New Delhi has recently been ‘quite forward-leaning’ in negotiations and that the offers on the table are ‘the best we've ever received as a country’, making India a viable alternative market for US exporters.

He also said row crops refer to large-scale agricultural commodities grown in mechanised farm rows and traded globally, such as corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, sugarcane, barley, sorghum and canola -- products that are politically sensitive in India due to farmer livelihoods and food security concerns. He added USTR's testimony offers an authentic glimpse into US-India trade talks, but it reveals only about what Washington wants from India and not what it is willing to give in return.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 25,922.80 and 25,693.25 respectively. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.    

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 2.65%, JIO Financial Services up by 2.63%, Tata Steel up by 2.57%, Eternal up by 2.38% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.06%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.00%, SBI Life Insurance down by 0.86%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.63%, Power Grid Corporation of India down by 0.28% and ONGC down by 0.22% and were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 5.36 points or 0.06% to 9,660.89, France’s CAC rose 37.21 points or 0.46% to 8,059.90 and Germany’s DAX gained 7.86 points or 0.03% to 24,138.00.