Indian equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, are expected to open higher on Thursday, taking cues from GIFT Nifty, which was trading around 26,254. Market sentiment is likely to remain upbeat amid optimism over a potential India-US trade deal.

Indian benchmark indices ended higher on the first day of the new Samvat with Nifty finishing above 25,850 on October 21.

At close, the Sensex was up 62.97 points or 0.07 percent at 84,426.34, and the Nifty was up 25.45 points or 0.10 percent at 25,868.60.

The stock market was closed on Wednesday, October 22, on account of Diwali Balipratipada.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower, following Wall Street’s declines on concerns about US-China trade tensions. Last checked, Japan's Nikkei 225 index was 0.1 per cent down, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.22 per cent, while South Korea's KOSPI index fell 0.09 per cent.

Overnight, the US equity markets closed lower following a busy day of corporate earnings and renewed US-China trade tensions. With the US government shutdown entering its fourth week, the tech-focused Nasdaq fell 0.9 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.7 per cent, and the S&P 500 slipped 0.5 per cent

Back home, Top traded Volumes on NSE Nifty – Eternal Ltd. 3818958.00, HDFC Bank Ltd. 3471600.00, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. 3449156.00, ICICI Bank Ltd. 3415560.00, Jio Financial Services Ltd. 3190393.00,

On NSE, total number of shares traded was 115.36 Crore and total turnover stood at Rs. 19714.12 Crore.

On NSE Future and Options, total number of contracts traded in index futures was 29698 with a total turnover of Rs. 5836.87 Crore. Along with this total number of contracts traded in stock futures were 240082 with a total turnover of Rs. 17168.62 Crore. Total numbers of contracts for index options were 13341242 with a total turnover of Rs. 2604489.13 Crore. and total numbers of contracts for stock options were 1379634 with a total turnover of Rs. 102047.82 Crore.

The FIIs on 20/10/2025 stood as net buyer in equity and debt. Gross equity purchased stood at Rs. 15507.84 Crore and gross debt purchased stood at Rs. 1067.37 Crore, while the gross equity sold stood at Rs. 14430.48 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs. 710.30 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity and debt reported were Rs. 1077.36 Crore and Rs. 357.07