In the week ended on Friday, 17 October 2025, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 1,625.14 points or 1.97% to settle at 83,952.19. The Nifty 50 index added 482.50 points or 1.91% to settle at 25,709.85. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.18% to close at 46,360.28. The BSE Small-Cap fell 0.20% to end at 53,040.96.

Weekly Index Movement:

The domestic equity benchmarks ended marginally lower on Monday, snapping a two-day winning streak. Sentiment was hit by renewed trade tensions between the U.S. and China after President Donald Trump escalated tariff threats in response to Beijing’s tighter controls on rare earth exports. The S&P BSE Sensex declined 173.77 points or 0.21% to 82,327.05. The Nifty 50 index fell 58 points or 0.23% to 25,227.35. In the past two trading sessions, the Sensex and Nifty jumped 0.89% and 0.96%, respectively.

The domestic equity benchmarks ended lower for the second straight session on Tuesday, as weak global cues and persistent foreign fund outflows weighed on sentiment. The S&P BSE Sensex declined 297.07 points or 0.36% to 82,029.98. The Nifty 50 index fell 81.85 points or 0.32% to 25,145.50. In the past two trading sessions, the Sensex and Nifty slipped 0.57% and 0.55%, respectively.

The domestic equity benchmarks rebounded sharply Wednesday, ending a two-day losing streak amid improved global sentiment and easing domestic inflation. The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 575.45 points or 0.70% to 82,605.43. The Nifty 50 index rose 178.05 points or 0.71% to 25,323.55. In the past two trading sessions, the Sensex and Nifty slipped 0.57% and 0.55%, respectively.

The key equity indices ended with strong gains Thursday, marking their second consecutive session of advances. The rally was driven by stock-specific momentum amid the ongoing Q2 earnings season and renewed foreign fund inflows. The S&P BSE Sensex surged 862.23 points or 1.04% to 83,467.66. The Nifty 50 soared 261.75 points or 1.03% to 25,585.30. In two sessions, the Sensex and Nifty have jumped 1.75% each.

The key equity benchmarks closed with modest gains on Friday, extending gains for a third consecutive session, driven by optimism over corporate earnings recovery and continued foreign fund inflows. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 484.53 points or 0.58% to 83,952.19. The Nifty 50 added 124.55 points or 0.49% to 25,709.85. In the past three trading sessions, the Sensex and Nifty jumped 2.34% and 2.24% each, respectively.

Economy:

India's retail inflation slipped to 1.54% in September from 2.07% in the preceding month mainly due to subdued prices of food items, including vegetables and pulses, according to government data released on Monday. The consumer price index (CPI) based inflation was 5.49% in September 2024.

India's wholesale price inflation moderated more-than-expected in September from a 4-month high in August, provisional data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed on Tuesday. The wholesale price index, or WPI, rose 0.13% year-over-year in September, slower than the 0.52% rise in August.

Food prices logged a decline of 1.99% annually in September, while the price decline in primary articles deepened to 3.32% from 2.10% in August, and costs for fuel and power also showed a slower decrease of 2.58% versus 3.17% a month ago. Data showed that the annual price growth of manufactured products eased to 2.33% from 2.55%.

India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to an 11-month high of $32.15 billion in September, according to Commerce Ministry data released on Wednesday. Exports rose to $36.38 billion in September from $35.10 billion in August, while imports increased to $68.53 billion from $61.59 billion in the previous month.

During the first six months of FY26, goods exports to the U.S., India’s largest trading partner, grew 13% year-on-year to $45.82 billion, while imports from the U.S. rose to $25.59 billion from $23.47 billion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday revised India's growth forecast for the fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26) upward to 6.6%, a 0.2 percentage point increase from its previous estimate of 6.4%.This revision is largely due to India's strong growth momentum in the first quarter of FY26, which saw the economy grow at a rate of 7.8%. The upward revision is attributed mainly to the carryover effect from a strong first quarter, rather than any offsetting of recent US tariffs.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Avenue Supermarts (Dmart) rallied 2.21%. The company’s consolidated net profit tanked 11.37% to Rs 685.01 crore in Q2 FY26 as against Rs 772.97 crore in Q1 FY26. Revenue from operations rose 1.93% to Rs 16,676.30 crore in Q2 FY26 as against Rs 16,359.7 crore in Q1 FY26.

BLS International Services surged 9.17%. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) temporarily barred the company from participating in new Indian Mission tenders for a period of two years. The company added that Indian Missions accounted for about 12% of its consolidated revenue and 8% of EBITDA in Q1 FY26, suggesting limited financial impact.

HCL Technologies fell 0.49%. The company’s consolidated net profit jumped 10.20% to Rs 4,235 crore in Q2 FY26, compared to Rs 3,843 crore in Q1 FY26. Revenue from operations increased 5.24% to Rs 31,942 crore in Q2 FY26 as against Rs 30,349 crore posted in Q1 FY26.

Tech Mahindra shed 0.23%. The company reported a 4.73% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,194.50 crore on a 4.82% increase in net sales to Rs 13,994.90 crore in Q2 FY26 over Q1 FY26. However, as compared with Q2 FY25, the company’s consolidated net profit dropped 4.4% while revenue grew 5.1%.

Cyient DLM tanked 9.09%. The company’s consolidated net profit surged 108.1% to Rs 32.15 crore in Q2 FY26 compared with Rs 15.45 crore in Q2 FY25. Net sales declined 20.2% YoY to Rs 310.63 crore in Q2 September 2025.

LTIMindtree increased 2.07%. The company reported a 11.72% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,401.1 crore on 5.62% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 10,394.3 crore in Q2 FY26 over Q1 FY26.

Wipro declined 1.71%. The IT company ‘s consolidated net profit declined 2.53% to Rs 3,246.2 crore despite a 2.54% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 22,697.3 crore in Q2 FY26 over Q1 FY26.

Global Market:

China's trade surplus fell to $90.45 billion in September, from $102.33 billion a month prior. Exports rose an annual 8.3% last month, customs data showed on Monday, compared with a 4.4% increase in August. Imports grew 7.4%, their fastest pace since April 2024, against a 1.3% gain a month prior.

Singapore’s economy expanded 2.9% in the third quarter, according to preliminary government data released Tuesday, moderating from 4.4% growth in the previous quarter.