Indian stocks rally: Sensex gains over 1,100 points, Nifty trades above 22,950

what happened

Indian stocks opened Thursday, October 15, with strong buying. The Sensex, which tracks 30 large companies, climbed more than 1,100 points, or 1.5%, to an intraday high of 73,907. The Nifty 50 added over 300 points, or 1.4%, to reach 22,950. The BSE 150 MidCap and BSE 250 SmallCap indices, however, slipped about 0.5%. According to Mint, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Reliance, Infosys and TCS were the main contributors to the Sensex's gains.

Investors are moving into blue-chip stocks as valuations look more reasonable and large companies appear safer amid lingering geopolitical uncertainty. Across Asia, selling in AI-linked shares continued: South Korea's Kospi fell 8%, Taiwan Weighted dropped 4%, and MSCI's Asia Pacific equity index lost 1.5%, heading for a fourth straight decline. Year to date, Taiwan and South Korea's indices are up 60% and 30%, while the Nifty is down 12%. Traders expect the AI trade to reverse, which could bring foreign investors back into India. As Mint quoted V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, "From the Indian market perspective, the correction in AI stocks is a positive."

The early second-quarter earnings season is also supporting the market. IT majors TCS and HCL Tech reported better-than-expected results and signalled gradual improvement, although concerns remain. The Nifty IT index has risen more than 9% over three consecutive sessions, including Thursday.

why it matters

The Indian rally against a backdrop of Asian selling suggests investors are looking beyond AI stocks toward economies with resilient growth. Still, high oil prices, elevated US bond yields and foreign capital outflows keep profit-taking in play, so gains remain selective.

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