Market Cues: India US Trade Deal, FII Inflows And Other Factors Set To Affect Trade

Stock Market Cues: Trading activity is set to resume on D-street on October 23. The headline indices are likely to track the movement of the Gift Nifty and open lower. The Gift Nifty opened slightly lower at 26,265.5 levels hinting at a muted to negative start for the benchmark Nifty. Earlier on October 21, the headline indices finished with modest gains during the special trading session or Muhurat trading session held on the occasion of Diwali.

The Sensex and the Nifty finished the session in the green on October 21, extending gains for the fifth straight session. The Nifty 50 closed at 25,868.60 up by 25.45 points or 0.1 per cent and the 30-share Sensex finished at 84,426.34 up by 474.16 points or 0.56 per cent.

Stock Market Cues On October 23

On October 23 several cues such as the announcement of Q2FY26 results, continued foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows and changes in commodity prices are expected to impact investor sentiment and overall trading activity. Additionally global trade events such as progress in the signing of an India-US trade deal and the US President Donald Trump’s statement on China are also set to impact trade.

India-US Trade Deal

The finalisation of an India-US trade deal seems close as the US is reportedly looking to cut tariffs on imports from India. According to a report by the Mint the reduced tariffs are expected to come into effect following a reduction in the purchase of crude oil from Russia on India’s part. As per the report the tariffs are likely to reduce to 15 per cent to 16 per cent from the current 50 per cent. Additionally India is also likely to raise its import quota for non-genetically modified corn from the U.S.

Trump’s Statement On China

As trade tensions between China and the US continue to witness turbulence, US President Donald Trump said on October 21 that he wants to be “nice” to China but claimed that the country has been “very rough” with the United States over the years. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet during Trump’s diplomatic trip to Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan.

Q2 Results Today

Several companies are scheduled to announce their Q2 results today, October 23, 2025, in India, with key releases expected from major firms like Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Colgate Palmolive (India) and Laurus Labs Ltd.

FII Inflows

On October 21, foreign institutional investors continued their buying activity for the fifth continuous session  by net purchasing Indian equities worth Rs 96.72 crore. However, domestic institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 607.01 crore in a bid to book profits after a four session winning streak. So far in October both DIIs and FIIs have remained net buyers of Indian equities purchasing stocks worth Rs 29,922.90 crore and Rs 300.41 crore respectively.

Crude Oil Prices On October 23

On October 23, crude oil prices witnessed a significant jump, the price of Brent Crude surged to $64.24 up by $1.65 or 2.64 per cent and the price of West Texas Intermediate jumped $60.25 up by $1.75 or 2.99 per cent.

Gold Rate On October 23

Physical gold prices extended their decline on October 23, the price of one gram of 24 karat gold remained around Rs 12,588. The price of one gram of 22 karat gold and 18 karat gold remained around Rs 11,539 and Rs 9,441 respectively.

Asian Indices Witness Early Losses

Major Asian indices declined in early trade on October 23, the Nikkei 225, the Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite all fell 0.96 per cent, 1.37 per cent and 0.08 per cent respectively. On the other hand the KOSPI and the Shanghai Composite fell by 0.7 per cent and 0.66 per cent in early trade.

US Market Indices

On October 22, US markets witnessed broadbased declines, resulting in the Wall Street indices finishing the session lower. The Nasdaq Composite, Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 finished the session lower by 0.93 per cent, 0.71 per cent and 0.53 per cent respectively.