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Post Session: Quick Review
Jan-28-2026

Indian equity benchmarks ended higher on Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision. Markets made an optimistic start, as sentiments were positive after a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU). During the afternoon session, profit-taking at higher levels erased some of the early gains, but indices soon regained momentum and closed near day’s high points.

Some of the important factors in trade:

India-EU FTA to come in force within 2026: Sentiments upbeat as Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the EU is likely to come in force within the 2026 calendar year.

RBI likely to cut repo rate by 25 bps: Traders took some support as a private report stated that Reserve Bank will opt for another 0.25 per cent decrease in key repo rate in its next monetary policy review on February 6, in what is expected to be the last cut in the current easing cycle. 

India keen to invest in extraction of critical minerals in Canada: Traders took note of Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s statement that India is keen to invest in the extraction of critical minerals in Canada and will mount a delegation soon to discuss joint collaboration in the sector.      

Global front: European markets were trading mostly in red, ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision and earnings from mega-cap tech earnings. Asian equity markets ended mostly in green, after the Bank of Japan's December minutes showed board members supported further rate hikes if the outlook for growth and prices holds.

The BSE Sensex ended at 82344.68, up by 487.20 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 81814.75 and 82503.97. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 5.32%, Oil & Gas up by 3.94%, PSU up by 3.54%, Industrials up by 3.51% and Energy up by 3.42%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.82% and FMCG down by 0.44%, the only losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 9.04%, Eternal up by 5.23%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.28%, Power Grid Corp up by 1.97% and Trent up by 1.82%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 4.26%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.43%, Sun Pharma down by 1.80%, Infosys down by 1.18% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.85% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, with India and the European Union (EU) sealing a landmark free trade agreement (FTA), Nasscom has said that Indian IT firms stand to gain from greater opportunities in Europe, including easier cross-border provision of services and potentially improved mobility for professionals. It noted that FTA fosters deeper EU-India ties in technology, innovation, and digital areas (building on the India-EU Trade and Technology Council) and could lead to more EU investment in India's IT ecosystem, joint ventures, R&D in AI, semiconductors, clean tech, and startups. 

It noted that the FTA diversifies markets for Indian IT exporters, providing a hedge especially at a time when US tariffs and geopolitical shocks have triggered a global trade turmoil, and India's $280-billion IT industry facing visa-related headwinds and macro uncertainties. Further, the Indian IT firms stand to gain from greater opportunities in Europe, including easier cross-border provision of services and potentially improved mobility for professionals.

While the goods see major tariff cuts in the FTA, Nasscom noted that services gains are more about opening markets and rules-based predictability. Under the FTA, EU could lower non-tariff barriers and ease cross-border delivery, giving Indian tech a better access to EU market. Besides, India and EU have agreed on a constructive framework to enable social security agreements in five years with all the EU member states. Nasscom highlighted that the deal supports job creation, MSME growth in tech, and overall confidence for investors in India's services sector. Moreover, the FTA includes dedicated SME chapters with contact points and digital platforms.

The CNX Nifty ended at 25342.75, up by 167.35 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 25187.65 and 25372.10. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 8.91%, ONGC up by 8.32%, Coal India up by 5.00%, Eternal up by 4.90% and Hindalco up by 3.78%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer Products down by 4.68%, Asian Paints down by 4.23%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.41%, Sun Pharma down by 1.73% and Max Healthcare Inst down by 1.73% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading lower; France’s CAC fell 90.62 points or 1.11% to 8,062.20, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 38.95 points or 0.38% to 10,168.85, and Germany’s DAX lost 0.74 points to 24,893.70.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision and key earnings from mega-cap US companies like Meta, Microsoft, Tesla, and Apple. Further, sentiments gained with US dollar declining to four-year low after the US President Donald Trump indicated that he is comfortable with the dollar’s recent decline.  Chinese shares gained the People's Bank of China lifted the offshore yuan to a 32-month high. Hong Kong shares rallied after one of China’s largest property developers -- China Vanke secured a 2.36-billion-yuan loan from Shenzhen Metro Group, its largest shareholder, to repay bond principal and interest. The Japan’s Nikkei ended marginally higher as the Bank of Japan's December minutes showed board members supported further rate hikes if the outlook for growth and prices holds. Seoul shares hit a new peak fuelled by strong gains in chipmakers and battery stocks, and after US President Donald Trump said his administration will work something out with Seoul over a trade deal.

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

4,151.24

11.33

0.27

Hang Seng

27,826.91

699.96

2.58

Jakarta Composite

8,320.56

-659.67

-7.35

KLSE Composite

1,756.49

-14.76

-0.83

Nikkei 225

53,358.71

25.17

0.05

Straits Times

4,909.34

-13.68

-0.28

KOSPI Composite

5,170.81

85.96

1.69

Taiwan Weighted

32,803.82

485.90

1.50
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