Thursday, September 18, 2025, marked a triumphant third consecutive day for stock markets, with India’s benchmark Sensex climbing 320 points to push past the significant 83,000 mark. This positive momentum was ignited by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to trim its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point, along with strong hints of two more rate cuts later this year, sending a wave of optimism through global financial circles.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed strong at 83,013.96, gaining 0.39% or 320.25 points, after touching an intraday high of 83,141.21 with a 0.54% jump. Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty saw a solid rise of 93.35 points, or 0.37%, closing at 25,423.60.
Leading the charge among Sensex constituents were heavyweights like Eternal, Sun Pharma, Infosys, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, ITC, and Adani Ports, all registering notable gains.
Conversely, a few prominent names, including Tata Motors, Trent, Bajaj Finance, and Asian Paints, experienced declines.
Across Asia, the reaction was varied: South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed more than 1% higher, while China’s Shanghai SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng saw declines exceeding 1%. European markets, however, responded with significant enthusiasm, trading much higher. Meanwhile, U.S. markets had concluded Wednesday, September 17, 2025, on a somewhat mixed note.
Commenting on the broader picture, R. Ponmudi, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth technology firm, highlighted that ‘the US Fed’s 25 basis point rate cut was the primary catalyst, significantly boosting investor confidence worldwide.’
In the commodities market, global oil benchmark Brent crude saw a slight dip of 0.56%, settling at $67.57 per barrel.
Despite the positive sentiment, exchange data revealed that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their selling spree on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, offloading equities worth ₹1,124.54 crore, breaking a brief pause. Nevertheless, the preceding day saw both Indian benchmarks rise, with the Sensex closing at 82,693.71, up 313.02 points (0.38%), and the Nifty gaining 91.15 points (0.36%) to reach 25,330.25.