Indian stock market: The equity market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to extend rally and open higher on Thursday, following mixed global market cues, after the US Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) as anticipated.

Asian markets traded mostly higher, while the US stock market ended mixed overnight after the Fed policy and Chair Jerome Powell cited worries over a slowing US labour market and rising inflation.

On Wednesday, the Indian stock market ended with decent gains as sentiment improved amid India and the US resumed trade talks.

The Sensex rallied 313.02 points, or 0.38%, to close at 82,693.71, while the Nifty 50 settled 91.15 points, or 0.36%, higher at 25,330.25.

“We recommend continuing with a ‘buy on dips’ approach, with support placed around the 25,050 – 25,150 zone, while keeping position sizes moderate given the likelihood of higher volatility due to global events,” said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

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Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:

Asian Markets

Asian markets traded mixed on Thursday, following a similar trend on Wall Street overnight, after the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate as expected. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.26%, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.43%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures indicated a lower opening.

Gift Nifty Today

Gift Nifty was trading around 25,497 level, a premium of nearly 74 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close, indicating a positive start for the Indian stock market indices.

Wall Street

US stock market ended mixed after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by an expected 25 basis points.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 260.42 points, or 0.57%, to 46,018.32, while the S&P 500 fell 6.41 points, or 0.10%, to 6,600.35. The Nasdaq Composite closed 72.63 points, or 0.32%, lower at 22,261.33.

Nvidia share price fell 2.6%, Amazon shares declined 1.04%, Apple stock price rose 0.35%, while Tesla stock price gained 1.01%. Workday shares jumped 7.2%, Lyft stock price surged 13.1% and Uber shares fell 5%.

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The US Federal Reserve decided to cut the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, amid signs of growing stress in the labour market. The FOMC voted by an 11:1 majority to cut the federal funds rate by 25 bps to a range of 4% to 4.25%. The Fed projected two more quarter-percentage-point cuts this year.

China Interest Rates

China’s central bank left the borrowing cost of its seven-day reverse repurchase agreements unchanged, Reuters reported. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) injected 487 billion yuan ($68.56 billion) worth of seven-day reverse repos through open market operations, keeping the rate steady at 1.40% from the previous operation.

Gold Prices

Gold prices extended losses on Thursday due to an uptick in the dollar after the expected US Fed rate cut, and measured rhetoric on further policy easing. Spot gold price fell 0.2% to $3,653.54 per ounce, after hitting a record high of $3,707.40 on Wednesday. US gold futures for December delivery slipped 0.8% to $3,688.10.

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The US dollar was steady following its plunge to a 3-1/2-year low. The dollar dropped to the lowest since February 2022 at 96.224 against a basket of major peers immediately after the rate decision, but sprang back vigorously to be as much as 0.44% higher on the day at 97.074, Reuters reported. The euro was steady at $1.1818, Sterling was flat at $1.3626, while the dollar edged down 0.08% to 146.815 yen.

Crude Oil Prices

Crude oil prices were little changed after the US central bank lowered its key interest rate as widely expected. Brent crude futures fell 0.12% to $67.87 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate futures declined 0.16% to $63.95.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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