India stocks erase early gains over possible delay in US trade deal finalisation

New Delhi [India], October 23 (ANI): Indian stock indices surrendered most of their gains from Thursday as the session progressed, mainly due to US sanctions on key Russian crude majors and indications that the US deal may not be finalised soon, analysts said. Profit booking by investors also likely weighed on the stock indices.
"The US sanctions on Russian oil majors also raised concerns that India may have to curtail purchases of discounted Russian crude and turn to costlier alternatives, potentially straining the import bill and inflation outlook," said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, a SEBI-registered online trading and wealth tech firm.
The market rose sharply in the first half on optimism over a potential India-U.S. trade deal but surrendered most of its gains toward the close, weighed down by a sharp decline in Reliance Industries after the company reportedly indicated plans to recalibrate Russian oil imports, the CEO of Enrich Money added.
Sensex closed the day at 84,556.40 points, up 130.05 points or 0.15 per cent, from an intra-day high of 85,290 points. Similarly, Nifty closed at 25,888.90 points, up just 20.30 points or 0.078 per cent, from the day's high of 26,104 points.
Despite the strong start, the optimism was short-lived, Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities.
"The Nifty surged to an intraday high of 26104 but failed to sustain momentum, eventually giving up gains and correcting over 200 points. The index closed the session almost flat, reflecting caution among market participants," Shah added.
It is, however, notable that the indices are just shy away from their previous all-time highs.
So far in 2025, Sensex and Nifty accumulated returns of about 8-9 per cent, on a cumulative basis.
In 2024, Sensex and Nifty accumulated a growth of about 9-10 per cent each. In 2023, Sensex and Nifty gained 16-17 per cent, on a cumulative basis. In 2022, they gained a mere 3 per cent each.
"Domestic equities started on a positive note; however, they pared early gains as investors booked profits following sanctions on Russian oil and the possible postponement of India-US trade negotiations," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.
India and the US initiated talks for a just, balanced, and mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) in March this year, aiming to complete the first stage of the Agreement by the fall of 2025.
Meanwhile, IT stocks advanced as sentiment improved after Trump's softer tone on H1B visas.
"FIIs are gradually returning to Indian markets, encouraged by expectations of earnings rebound in H2FY26 supported by festive demand, tax benefits and GST reductions. As the undercurrent vibes of the domestic market have improved due to a possible India-US deal and a rise in consumer demand, the broad market is expected to do much better henceforth," Nair added. (ANI)