Nifty Rises Above 22,800 as FMCG Stocks and Adani Ports Rally After Fed Holds Rates, Rupee Slips Toward 95.4

Indian shares rose on Thursday afternoon. Consumer goods stocks and Adani Ports led gains after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, lifting sentiment across Asia.

The NSE Nifty 50 was up 154.70 points, or 0.68%, at 22,853.55 as of 1:24 p.m. local time. The BSE Sensex was up more than 500 points at around 73,750 to 73,850 during the early afternoon.

Earlier in the session, the Nifty touched an intraday high of 22,874.15.

Broad-based gains

Nearly all sectoral indexes traded higher. Nifty FMCG led with a gain of about 2%, while the Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty IT indexes each rose about 1%.

Nifty Auto was the main laggard, falling nearly 1%.

Among Sensex stocks, Adani Ports rose more than 5% after reporting a 17% rise in quarterly consolidated profit to 36.82 billion rupees and raising its fiscal 2027 guidance.

Power Grid gained about 4% and Kotak Mahindra Bank rose about 3%. ITC, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever and Eternal gained between 2% and 2.8%.

Trent and Asian Paints were among the biggest decliners, along with Tata Steel, HDFC Bank and Maruti Suzuki.

Key moves as of early afternoon:

Nifty 50: 22,853.55, up 0.68% (1:24 p.m.) Sensex: up more than 500 points Top sector: Nifty FMCG, up about 2% Biggest Sensex gainer: Adani Ports, up more than 5% Weakest sector: Nifty Auto, down nearly 1% India VIX: down about 4%

Fed decision supports sentiment

The gains followed the Fed's decision on Wednesday to hold its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4%.

"Globally, the Fed held rates at 3.75-4.00% via a 10-2 vote (dissenters favoured a hike)," said Hemang Gor of Axis Direct.

Analysts said the pause offers only limited relief. The Fed said "inflation remains elevated," and markets are pricing a possible rate increase in December.

"December 2026 hike seems likely, aligning with the dot plot published in the last policy," said Ankita Pathak, head of global investments at Ionic Asset.

Headwinds remain

V.K. Vijayakumar of Geojit Investments said the Fed's pause was mildly positive for global equities, but that India still faces strong headwinds.

"The 10-year US bond yield continues to hover around 5% and there are no signs of easing of the crude prices," he said.

High oil prices weigh heavily on India, which imports most of its crude. Foreign investors have pulled about $31 billion out of Indian markets so far in 2026, according to Goodreturns.

Even with Thursday's gain, the Nifty is down about 12.6% this year, and the Sensex has lost about 13.4%.

Rupee weakens

The Indian rupee fell to about 95.37 per dollar in early afternoon trade, down 0.15% from the previous close of 95.22. It touched its weakest level in two weeks on dollar demand from importers and likely overseas debt repayment outflows.

Traders said mild intervention by the Reserve Bank of India helped limit the rupee's losses.

Earnings drive stock moves

Corporate results drove sharp moves in individual stocks.

Aeroflex Industries jumped about 18% after profit more than doubled and quarterly revenue topped 2 billion rupees for the first time. Jupiter Wagons rose about 4% after winning a railway wagon order worth 11.4 billion rupees from the Ministry of Railways.

eClerx Services fell nearly 13% after releasing its quarterly results after market hours on Wednesday.

IPO activity

In the primary market, the initial public offering of Bombay Coated & Special Steels opened for subscription on Thursday.

Kamraj Negi of Pantomath Capital said the pace of upcoming listings would depend on "market volatility, valuations, and the ability of companies to execute."

Looking ahead

Investors are watching further quarterly earnings, including Jio Platforms, whose board meets on Friday, Oct. 30, to approve second-quarter results.

Analysts said the direction of U.S. bond yields, crude prices and foreign investor flows is likely to decide whether Thursday's gains can grow into a broader recovery for Indian equities, which have badly lagged regional peers this year.