Last Updated:February 03, 2026, 16:07 IST

Indian benchmark indices staged a powerful rally, with the Nifty and Sensex surging up to 4.7% and 4.4% respectively; Know key reasons

Nifty50

Indian benchmark indices staged a powerful rally, with the Nifty and Sensex surging up to 4.7% and 4.4%, respectively, marking one of their strongest single-day advances. The sharp upswing followed the announcement of a long-awaited India–US trade agreement, which helped ease tariff-related worries that had weighed on domestic equities for months.

The benchmark BSE Sensex ended 2072.67 points higher or 2.54% to end at 83,739.13. The Nifty 50 climbed 639.15 points, or 2.55%, to end at 25,727.55 during the session.

Earlier in the day, the BSE Sensex jumped 5.1% during the session to hit an intraday peak of 85,871.73. Meanwhile, the Nifty 50 advanced by 1,252 points, or 5%, climbing to 26,341.2 as buying intensified across the board.

The sharp move also led to a massive rise in investor wealth. The combined market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies increased to Rs 467.35 lakh crore from ₹455 lakh crore in the previous session, translating into a gain of more than Rs 12.5 lakh crore in a single day as participation broadened across sectors.

Highlighting the reasons that are fueling the Indian stock market today, Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart, said, “The Indian stock market today is in a bull trend due to the announcement of the India-US trade deal. The much-awaited trade deal has the potential to significantly improve sentiment across markets and among FIIs. After a strong gap-up opening during the Opening Bell, the possibility of the Nifty 50 index hitting fresh all-time highs in the near term cannot be ruled out. The Indian rupee is also expected to strengthen meaningfully.”

On segments that may benefit in upcoming sessions after the India-US trade deal, Santosh Meena of Swastika Investmart, said, “Export-oriented sectors are likely to be the key beneficiaries—textiles and apparel, gems & jewellery, leather, marine/seafood (shrimp), auto ancillaries, engineering goods, speciality chemicals, and select electronics and consumer goods. Pharma and IT/services may also witness an indirect sentiment boost.”

What’s driving the rally

India–US trade deal

After prolonged negotiations, India and the US sealed a trade agreement under which Washington cut reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50%. In return, India will reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers on American products. The breakthrough removes a major uncertainty that had kept foreign investors cautious and contributed to Indian equities’ underperformance. Through January, the Nifty had slumped over 1,000 points at its worst, even as foreign portfolio investors sold heavily.

Rupee strength adds comfort

A stronger rupee also supported sentiment, easing some pressure from global volatility. The currency opened at 90.40 against the dollar versus its previous close. Analysts believe the combined effect of the India–US deal, progress on the EU trade front and a growth-focused Budget could lift sentiment and revive risk appetite across markets.

FII short covering

Short covering by foreign institutional investors amplified the rebound. With bearish positions estimated to be close to 90%, traders rushed to unwind shorts as indices rebounded from oversold levels and the Nifty reclaimed the 26,000 mark. Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Investments, said a sustained move above 25,000 opens the door to 25,800 and possibly 26,200, though failure to hold above 25,800 could trigger consolidation toward the 25,430–25,340 zone.

Heavyweights power gains

Large-cap stocks led from the front. Reliance Industries climbed nearly 4%, while Adani Ports surged about 8%, giving strong momentum to the benchmarks. HDFC Bank, L&T, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Infosys and Eternal gained up to 5%. Optimism around the Union Budget 2026’s capital expenditure push further strengthened expectations of better order flows.

Buzz for strong quarterly numbers

On how the India-US trade deal may benefit the Indian stock market in the medium to long term, Seema Srivastava, Senior Research Analyst at SMC Global Securities, said, “The India-US deal is expected to benefit export-oriented companies, especially the auto, IT, textile, pharma, gems and jewellery. So, companies from these segments are expected to report strong quarterly numbers in the upcoming quarters.” She said that the market would try to discount that buzz much before the companies start reporting such robust quarterly numbers.

Supportive global cues

Global markets also offered tailwinds. The Dow Jones rose roughly 515 points (1.05%), the S&P 500 gained 0.5%, and the Nasdaq advanced about 0.6%. Asian equities rallied, with Japan’s Nikkei jumping around 3% and South Korea’s Kospi soaring over 5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s CSI 300 posted modest gains, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.3% after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.85%, its first hike since November 2023.

Stocks to buy after India-US trade deal

On stocks to buy in the wake of the India-US trade deal and the reduction of Trump’s tariffs on India, Anuj Gupta, a SEBI-registered market expert, recommended 21 stocks to buy today from the auto, IT, pharma, textile, and defence sectors.

Pharma: Aurobindo Pharma, Cipla, and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.

Defence: BEL, HAL, and Cochin Shipyard.

IT: TechM, HCL Tech, Wipro, and Infosys.

Textile: Trident and Welspun Living.

Auto and Auto Ancillary: Eicher Motors, Tata Motors, TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, JBM Auto, Bosch, Amara Raja, and Exide Industries.

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Last Updated:February 03, 2026, 11:09 IST

Silver prices staged a sharp rebound on Tuesday after an intense phase of liquidation that followed the abrupt unwinding of a record-setting rally

Silver Rates Surge Today

Silver Rates Today: Silver prices staged a sharp rebound on Tuesday after an intense phase of liquidation that followed the abrupt unwinding of a record-setting rally. The earlier sell-off had pulled prices down more than 46% from their peak in just three sessions, highlighting the extreme volatility in the precious metals space. Gold prices also recovered alongside silver.

On the MCX, silver hit the 6% upper circuit at Rs 2,50,436 per kg on February 3, while MCX gold climbed 3% to Rs 1,48,310 per 10 grams.

A key macro catalyst emerged after US President Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with India. The deal lowers US tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50% in exchange for India halting Russian oil purchases and easing certain trade barriers. The development added a fresh geopolitical layer to already jittery commodity markets.

Gold mirrored silver’s recovery in global trade. Spot gold rose as much as 4.2% to move above $4,855 an ounce after sliding 4.8% in the previous session. That decline had extended Friday’s slump, the steepest in over a decade.

Earlier, on January 30, spot gold had tumbled nearly 10% in its sharpest single-day fall since 1983, dragging prices back below the $5,000-an-ounce mark that had been crossed only days before and erasing a sizable portion of the year’s gains.

The rebound extended beyond gold and silver. Spot platinum advanced 3% to $2,183.64 an ounce after touching a record $2,918.80 on January 26, while palladium rose 2.7% to $1,765.75, joining the broader recovery across precious metals.

What drove the rebound after the crash?

Domestic sentiment got a lift from the India–US trade deal, while investors also reassessed geopolitical risks, currency movements and the outlook for US monetary leadership. Strong buying from Chinese retail investors ahead of the Lunar New Year further supported demand, although China’s markets are set to shut for over a week from February 16, temporarily sidelining a key source of consumption.

Traders are also watching developments involving Iran after Trump signalled that talks on a potential new nuclear agreement could begin soon. Any diplomatic progress could reduce gold’s safe-haven appeal and cap gains.

The earlier sell-off in bullion was initially triggered by Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair, which strengthened the US dollar and pressured metals. The slide intensified after CME Group raised margin requirements for precious metals futures, forcing leveraged traders to unwind positions quickly. A stronger dollar combined with higher trading costs led to a sharp liquidity squeeze, accelerating the fall.

Will the rally sustain?

Hareesh V, Head of Commodity Research at Geojit Investments, said longer-term drivers such as geopolitical tensions, central bank buying and macro uncertainty remain supportive for precious metals.

He noted that the previous correction was magnified by extremely overbought conditions after gold and silver had surged to record highs, with silver rallying more than 60% in a month and gold over 20%. Profit-booking snowballed into panic selling as liquidity thinned and volatility spiked.

“The violent drop was more of a technical correction than a deterioration in core fundamentals,” he said, suggesting that the broader structural support for the metals remains intact.

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