Indian benchmark equity indices ended mixed on Thursday as a rate hike in the US, hawkish Federal Reserve commentary, elevated crude oil prices and a crowded IPO market offset bargain buying after the recent selloff. The Nifty50 rose 53 points, or 0.23%, to 23,270.60, while the Sensex fell 21.86 points, or 0.03%, to 74,314.59. Both indices had gained as much as 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively, during the session.

The National Stock Exchange’s $2.3-billion IPO opened for subscription on Thursday, with investors bidding for around 36% of the shares on offer. Twelve of the 16 major sectoral indices gained, while the Nifty MidCap and SmallCap indices rose 0.92% and 0.76%, respectively. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, HDFC Life Insurance and SBI Life Insurance were among the top Nifty 50 gainers.

The Nifty Realty, Auto and Metal indices outperformed, while the Nifty Bank, PSU Bank and Private Bank indices declined. The Nifty Auto index gained 1%, taking its two-session advance to 1.5% after falling around 4% in the preceding four sessions. Traders also assessed weekend proposals to overhaul derivatives settlement, which market participants said could help curb expiry-day volatility.

The Indian rupee ended almost flat at 95.93 per US dollar, compared with Wednesday’s close of 95.9550, bucking losses in most regional currencies. Likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India, and inflows related to an equity-index rebalancing helped cushion the impact of the US rate hike.

Indian government bonds recovered earlier losses and traded little changed as crude oil prices eased. The yield on the benchmark 6.94%, 2036 bond ended at 7.0463%, compared with Wednesday’s close of 7.0524%, after touching an intraday high of 7.0816%. Brent crude eased to around $104 a barrel following reports that Saudi Arabia plans to restore its East-West pipeline, providing an alternative route to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Top Movers of the Day

Tata Chemicalssurged 5.86% to ₹774.65 on reports the Tata Sons board had approved the holding company’s listing and a five-year extension for chairman N. Chandrasekaran. The stock has gained around 36% in three sessions following the Reserve Bank of India’s rejection of Tata Sons’ plea to exit its NBFC status. Trading volumes were more than three times the average.

Tata Teleservices Maharashtra rose around 3.92% to ₹36.60 on the same Tata group listing and leadership-extension news. Heavy volumes indicated buying interest amid expectations of potential value unlocking from a future Tata Sons IPO and group restructuring.

Tata Investment Corporation gained around 6% to ₹718.95, extending its recent rally after the RBI’s decision pushed Tata Sons towards a mandatory listing. The company remains in focus as a key investment vehicle within the Tata group.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles rose 3–6%, supported by the broader Tata group rally, positive sentiment around leadership continuity, and the potential listing of Tata Sons.

Tata Power and Tata Steel advanced 3–6% as investors extended buying across Tata group companies amid expectations that a clearer holding-company structure and listing could improve valuation visibility.

Karamtara Engineering listed at ₹320 on both the BSE and NSE, a 26% premium to its ₹254 IPO price. The issue was subscribed 66 times, reflecting strong demand for the electrical-equipment SME despite volatility in the broader market.

Manipal Payment & Identity Solutions made a weak debut, listing at ₹332 on the BSE and ₹330 on the NSE, discounts of 2.06% and 2.65%, respectively, to its ₹339 issue price. The listing reflected cautious sentiment towards smaller fintech and IT-services IPOs.

G R Infraprojects fell around 2% to ₹802 intraday after issuing a notice to terminate its contract with NTPC for a battery-energy-storage-system EPC package at Mouda Super Thermal Power Station. The contract exit raised concerns over order-book visibility and execution risk. However, the stock rebounded at the end of trade by 0.73% to ₹825.

Jain Irrigation Systems closed around ₹30.30, up 4.23% on the day, after receiving a 1.18 billion rupees letter of empanelment from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company.

NSE’s IPO opened for subscription with a grey-market premium of around 9%. The ₹225.69 billion offer for sale attracted more than 150 anchor investors and raised 67.46 billion rupees in the anchor book, with overseas funds accounting for 43% of the allocation. The initial public offering of the National Stock Exchange was subscribed 0.34 times on the first day of bidding.

Futures & Options
The Nifty September 2026 futures closed at 23,350, a premium of 79.4 points over the Nifty 50’s cash-market close of 23,270.60. The Nifty 50 gained 53 points, or 0.23%, during the session, while the NSE’s India VIX, a gauge of expected near-term volatility, fell 7.82% to 12.14.

HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Steel were the most-traded individual stock futures contracts on the NSE. The September 2026 F&O contracts will expire on 29 September 2026.

Bonds
The yield on India’s benchmark 6.94%, 2036 government bond ended at 7.0463% on Thursday, easing from the day’s high of 7.0816% and Wednesday’s close of 7.0524%. Bond yields recovered earlier losses as Brent crude oil prices eased to around $104 a barrel following reports that Saudi Arabia plans to restore its East-West pipeline, providing an alternative route to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Some traders covered short positions and averaged out earlier losses, supporting the recovery in bond prices. Expectations that crude could fall below $100 a barrel once the Saudi pipeline’s capacity is restored also improved sentiment, although traders remained cautious amid domestic concerns.

The RBI’s first OMO sale auction since 2017 received bids worth 665.9 billion rupees against the notified 500 billion rupees and the central bank accepted the entire notified amount.

Forex
The Indian rupee ended almost flat at 95.93 per US dollar on Thursday, compared with Wednesday’s close of 95.9550, bucking declines in most regional currencies. The rupee slipped past the 96-per-dollar mark in early trade but recovered losses as likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India and inflows linked to a global equity-index rebalancing supported the currency.

Traders said the RBI likely conducted dollar-rupee sell/buy swaps to absorb excess rupee liquidity from the banking system. The central bank’s open-market sale of government debt, conducted for the same purpose, also absorbed cash equivalent to nearly 0.2% of total bank deposits on Thursday.

Crypto
The cryptocurrency markets staged a broad technical recovery on Thursday, with Bitcoin gaining around 1.5% to reclaim the $76,300 level and Ethereum rising above $2,430. The rebound followed a volatile week marked by macroeconomic and regulatory uncertainty, including the US Senate’s failure to advance the crypto-focused CLARITY Act.

The US Federal Reserve’s widely expected 25-basis-point rate hike removed some immediate uncertainty for digital-asset investors, prompting renewed buying and short covering. However, higher interest rates remain a headwind for non-yielding assets, while regulatory uncertainty and elevated oil prices continue to pose risks to sentiment.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures climbed on Thursday as investors sought to recover some of the previous session’s losses following the Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate hike in three years. Dow futures rose 379 points, or 0.7%, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.8% and Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 1.1%.

Lower oil prices supported equity sentiment, with US crude trading over 1.5% lower at around $100 a barrel and Brent crude down more than 2% at $103.48. The Federal Reserve raised its overnight federal funds rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, taking the target range to 3.75%-4%, and indicated that another hike could come this year, with Chairman Kevin Warsh saying inflation remained high.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury note yields moved in a narrow range on Thursday as investors assessed the implications of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fluctuated between 4.97-4.98%, remaining just below the 5.01% level reached earlier in the week. The two-year treasury yield eased slightly to 4.70%.

The muted price action followed the Federal Reserve’s 25-basis-point rate hike and guidance that another increase could come this year. The policy outlook continued to support a flatter yield curve, while investors monitored inflation risks, elevated oil prices and the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates.

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